Textile package: APTMA wants cut in energy cost

Punjab chapter says its industries are paying higher tariff

KARACHI: All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma) Punjab Chairman Syed Ali Ahsan has urged the government to make the energy cost competitive to restore industry based in the province.

“The energy cost should be made regionally competitive - for example, electricity at Rs7/KWh and RLNG at Rs600 per mmbtu should also be included in the textile package,” he said in a press conference Tuesday.

The Aptma leadership also urged the government to protect the domestic market from dumped and subsidised import of yarn and fabric from India, China and the Far East.



He said overall exports have reduced from $25.1 billion to $19.5 billion in the last two years and textile exports have also dropped from $13.8 billion to $11.6 billion during the same period.

According to the Aptma leadership, as many as 70 spinning mills have been closed down in Punjab during the last two years, particularly due to the high cost of doing business that has hit around two million spindles while rendering the workforce of 150,000 (direct/indirect) unemployed.

“The prevailing uncertainty is leading to the closure of a mill every second day,” he stressed. The Aptma Punjab Chairman said that it is ironic that the availability of competitive energy tariffs, both electricity and RLNG, is not part of the textile package.

“A mill of 25,000 spindles is incurring Rs120 million per annum additional costs on account of energy versus the same size mill in other provinces,” he added.

He said the Punjab government’s growth strategy envisages 15% annual growth in exports, 8% in GDP and investment worth $17 billion by 2018.

“It is high time that an enabling environment is made possible for the Punjab-based textile industry to perform and achieve the goals set by the government, he added.

He said RLNG to the Punjab-based textile industry is 45% more expensive as compared to other provinces.

He further pointed out that the electricity generation cost for Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) was Rs4.75/KWh for October 2016 while it is being provided to the industry at Rs11/KWh.

“This hefty charge includes line losses and theft surcharges. Textile industry, being export-oriented, cannot pass on these charges to its international buyers,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 23^rd, 2016.

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