Urge to reduce mark-up to help textile sector become competitive

The life member of the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry and CEO of Alam Cotton Mills (Pvt) Limited, Faraz Alam Khan has urged the Government to reduce mark-up rate and also help the textile sector to become competitive in the global competitive environment.

He said that the Chinese textile industry is one of the major contributors to China's big trade surplus. It saw a US $129.2 billion trade surplus last year, accounting for 71% of nation's total. In the first quarter of 2007, the textile industry's trade surplus reached US $27.28 billion, accounting for nearly 60% of the total surplus.

Our regional competitors China, India and Bangladesh had given massive subsidies to their industries like lower mark-up rates, rebates and export refinance. China even gives free land and housing colonies to the industries besides discounts on utilities for export based industries.

Comparing to China, Khan said Pakistan's textile products have not grown as much as expected. He reiterated that low production ratio in the yarn has affected the whole chain of textile business resulting in worse export situation. He however, said that country's textile sector always had played a vital role in the profitable economy of the country. Even today it accounts for more than 64% of the total exports, industrial employment of more than 40%, share in the GDP 11% and more than 45% of bank advances in the manufacturing sector of the textile industry.