Textile exporters seek incentives

Ask govt to equally distribute gas and power among provinces.

FAISALABAD: Textile exporters have urged the government to give top priority to the textile industry and provide necessary incentives as per the export policy which resulted in a big boost to national exports to $25 billion and textile exports to $13 billion last year.

In a statement on Wednesday, Pakistan Textile Exporters Association Chairman Rana Arif Tauseef pointed out that all the countries of the world were providing conducive climate to industrial, business and trade sectors for growth and strengthening the economy.

Tauseef said the textile industry was of vital importance to the economy, but over the last few years, it had been facing crisis of productivity, shortage of gas and electricity, high cost of production and uncompetitiveness in international markets.

He claimed that about 50% of textile units in Faisalabad had been shut down while the remaining were working below capacity due to what he termed discriminatory distribution of gas and electricity to Punjab, causing forced closure of industry for five days a week.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 16^th, 2012.