Cotton consumption to fall to 8.5m bales

APTMA’s complaints continue; now irked by high cost of production

LAHORE: The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma) has said cotton consumption is likely to reduce to 8.5 million bales this year, down from last year’s level of 14 million, as the export-dependent working capacity of spindles and looms have either been restricted to one-shift operations or closed down because of the high cost of doing business.

“Only 25% spindles, converted to garments and made-ups, could survive since the high cost of doing business kept hurting the sector constantly,” he added. Furthermore, 6-8 million textile workers would be jobless with permanent closure of the export-dependent spindles and looms.

He said 400,000 bales per month were being consumed by the textile industry to produce 60,000 tons but a substantial drop in the consumption of cotton bales has recently been observed.

“The utilisation of cotton bales is likely to reduce to 8.5 million bales this year in case the government delays the decision of reducing the cost of doing business,” he pointed out.

He said the high cost of doing business, particularly a raise in the electricity tariff to Rs15 per unit, has put the textile industry under a lot of strain.

Furthermore, the imposition of system inefficiencies on the textile industry has added fuel to the fire.

Since the textile industry in Pakistan is no more cost effective therefore, the international market is not responding to its exportable production, he asserted.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 10^th, 2015.

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