Mills press govt to restore gas supply

All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma) Chairman Abdul Rahim Nasir on Wednesday urged the government to immediately restore gas supply to the textile industry.

Speaking at a press conference, he claimed that the industry had already suffered losses of nearly $1 billion in exports due to unavailability of gas and subsequent closure of more than 300 textile mills.

Nasir said that 26% surge in export of textiles during fiscal year 2021-22 came in the wake of supply of energy at a regionally competitive tariff.

As a result, the industry performed well with a 60% surge as exports rose from $12.5 billion in 2020 to almost $20 billion in 2022.

The Aptma chairman elaborated that the exponential growth in the textile sector encouraged investment of over $5 billion and the setting up of 100 new textile units, which, when become operational, would be able to fetch more than $500 million per month or $6 billion per annum.

He pointed out that gas supply to the industry had remained suspended since June 30, 2022, which halted the production of value-added products while massive layoffs were made due to large-scale closure of mills.

Furthermore, “it is inexplicable that the export sector, which is committed to uplifting textile exports to $25 billion during 2022-23 and over $2 billion per month, is being denied energy/ gas. Non-stop supply of gas is imperative for the textile industry to maintain the momentum of exports,” he said.

“Textile sector is committed to enhancing exports and proving it is a viable and long-term solution provider for economic stability of the country,” said Aptma North Zone Chairman Hamid Zaman.

More than 50% of output will be lost this month due to risk of losing orders on a permanent basis and diversion of buyers from Pakistan to its competitors, he feared.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 7^th, 2022.

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