Textile sector: Government proposes Rs200b ‘bailout’ package

Commerce minister says all-out efforts will be made to save ailing industry

ISLAMABAD: In a bid to save the sector, Minister for Commerce Engineer Khurram Dastgir Wednesday said that the government has proposed a Rs200-billion bailout package for the revival and modernisation of the textile industry.

While informing the Senate Standing Committee on Textile, he said that a special package was under consideration meant to introduce new technology and infrastructural modernisation in the sector.

The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Senator Mohsin Aziz at the Ministry of Textile Industry.

The commerce minister said that the government would give special incentives on taxes to enhance value addition. “The government is committed to the technological revival of the textile sector and is willing to compete with other regional competitors.”

In the six-member high level committee, relevant ministries and stakeholders were constituted to review the challenges facing the textile industry.

He added that the committee came up with a comprehensive recommendation for the revival of the textile industry.

On the occasion, the committee showed strong reservations over the performance of the Pakistan Central Cotton Committee.

Dastgir added that the government was looking into developing public private partnerships for better solution and enhancing the capacity of the institution, which is currently not functioning.

In the meeting, the committee had reservations on decreasing cotton production and called for improving seed quality and providing fertiliser to farmers.

The committee was informed that the cotton growing areas of south Punjab have switched to other crops like maize and sugarcane due to losses in cotton.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 19^th, 2016.

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