Textile sector dejected with gas suspensions

Earlier, SNGPL authorised four days closure as per gas load management plan.

FAISALABAD: Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) severely criticises ‘highly discriminatory four days gas closure’ to Faisalabad region while allowing five days supply to Lahore region. This decision of the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines (SNGPL) was beyond comprehension and tantamount to undue excess towards Faisalabad region, said FCCI President Mian Zahid Aslam, talking to media on Thursday.

He said that textile industry was the backbone of Pakistan economy, contributing more than 60% to total foreign exchange earnings and sharing 34% of total national industrial productivity.

Faisalabad was the biggest textile industrial centre of the country with more than 225,000 power looms, 500 printing mills, 400 sizing factories and more than 50 spinning mills; earning $4 billion from textile exports annually, he said.

“To deprive such an important sector and hub of textile industry of gas supply for four days a week will result in crushing the industry as well as destroying textile exports of the region,” Aslam said. The extraordinary long closure administered a severe setback to industrial production and business activities in Faisalabad, he said. Resultantly, export orders under preparation for Christmas to US and Europe had been delayed and the foreign buyers were discontented with Pakistani manufacturers and threatened to divert their orders in the future to other countries.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 2^nd, 2012.