Textile exports take a beating in September

APTMA chief lists down measures to arrest decline

KARACHI: A day after defending itself against accusations that the body is solely focusing on the spinning sector, All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma) Central Chairman Tariq Saud said the country’s textile exports have plunged across all sub-sectors,

Data available with the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics shows that exports of the textile industry have registered a year-on-year drop both in quantity and value terms in September. This development is especially alarming since a bulk of the country’s total exports come from the textile sector.



Saud said Aptma has been trying to gain government’s attention to the unprecedented trend in exports for the past one year.

“One of the major factors behind this drop in exports is the cost of energy - both gas and electricity,” he said.

“Almost 70% of the textile industry is located in Punjab and the high cost of energy has hit the industry hard, affecting its viability and capacity to produce exportable surplus.”



“Once the industry is regionally competitive and uninterrupted energy is available at Rs9/kwh and waiver of GIDC, the industry is confident of catching up on the shortfall by bringing its dormant and impaired capacities back on track,” he hoped.

He further pointed out that the fall in basic textile is far higher than the drop in apparel exports.

“Yarn exports dropped by 14.5%, followed by cloth 22.43%, yarn other than cotton yarn dropped 11.9%, bedwear 9%, tents and canvas 79% and art, silk and synthetic textile 67% in quantity terms,” he added.



“A strong basic textile industry is imperative to the growth of apparel sector both domestically and internationally and the time has come to join hands for an early restoration of viability of the textile industry,” he stressed.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 23^rd, 2015.

Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.