Declining exports: PTEA urges government to wake up

Association alarmed at latest figures.

FAISALABAD: Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA) has expressed concern over the alarming drop in exports, which declined 16.66% in September 2014.

Textile exports also witnessed a 1.16% decline over the same month of the previous fiscal year despite the availability of the GSP Plus benefit.

Unprecedented energy shortage was the prime reason behind the substantial drop in exports, PTEA lamented.

PTEA Chairman Sohail Pasha and Vice Chairman Rizwan Riaz, in a statement on Tuesday, said the country exported textile goods worth $3.417 billion in the first quarter of July-September this year against exports of $3.559 billion in the comparative period previous year.



Exports were showing a declining trend since July 2014 and export numbers in the coming months might worsen as the textile industry in Punjab has been deprived of basic fuels, they said.

Energy shortage is the prime reason behind the decline in exports as 50% of the production capacity has been hit due to the crisis. Drop in exports would have serious consequences for the economy but the government has failed to address this, they deplored.

According to the association, policymakers have not taken this issue seriously and instead gas is being diverted to unproductive sectors, causing a loss in terms of foreign exchange, they argued.

Pasha was of the view that non-availability of energy, high interest rate and stuck up liquidity on drawbacks and refunds have played a vital role in the low growth and exports of Pakistan’s textile industry.

Pasha criticised the policies, which had failed to encourage investment in the textile sector during the last five years. On the other hand, he added, competitors made huge investments due to the positive and business friendly environment provided by their governments.

“Rivals, taking advantage of the situation, are creeping into our regular markets making Pakistani textiles redundant,” said Pasha.

Despite absence of the GSP Plus status, India has managed to gain higher exports than Pakistan, which has revealed the glaring weaknesses in the country’s machinery.

PTEA urged the government to take note of the situation and step up to save the largest export earning industry of the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 22^nd, 2014.

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