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Mian Zahid Aslam, Chairman Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA) has emphasised the need of an immediate reduction in the costs of utilities, taxes and overheads on exports to make Pakistan compatible to the regional players. He urged the Government to take immediate decision in this respect as the time factor was of crucial importance for exports of the country at this stage.
Readymade garments and apparel remains a neglected sector by the government and financial institutions and, therefore, according to Abdur Rehman, Chairman of the Pakistan Readymade Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Pakistan had not been able to come up to the level of Bangladesh, India and China.
Textile exporters have requested the Prime Minister to direct the Central Board of Revenue (CBR) to make immediate payment of sales tax refunds of Rs17 billion pending for the last two years. The exporters criticised the CBR for inordinate delay in making payment of refunds and said that this had created serious liquidity crunch and might lead to closure of several industrial units.
National Textile Strategy Commission Sub-Committee Chairman Tariq Saeed Saigol has said that the textile sector was in favour of cutting the costs of production and of doing business in the country instead of seeking subsidy or rebate for improving the textile sector.
Pakistan and China have agreed to implement the first phase of customs duty reduction from July 1, 2007 under the Free Trade Agreement (FTA), said a Senior Official of the Commerce Ministry. Pakistan is the second country after Chile to have signed a bilateral arrangement on trade and investment with China.
The Government had selected about 47 ginning factories of Punjab and Sindh to achieve a production target of 1 lakh clean cotton bales this season. The factories have produced 10,650 bales until now.
The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry President Ch Muhammad Saeed said United Kingdom is the fourth leading trade partner of Pakistan with a total bilateral trade of $ 1.6 billion which is witnessing a steady growth.
The imports of secondhand clothes from USA, Europe, Japan, Korea and Poland have registered a decline of around 10% to Rs 360 million in ten months of 2006, due to the competitive international prices and input of 5% import duty.
The Government is encouraging the cultivation of indigenously-evolved BT (bacillus thuriengenesis) cotton varieties to increase production and decrease its cost, said Central Cotton Research Institute (CCRI) Multan Director Muhammad Arshad.
The Ministry of Textile Industry has issued a Notification allowing Research and Development (R&D) support to all categories of manufacturers and exporters of home textiles, including bedwear and towels. According an amended SRO 1128(1)2006, the condition of having in-house facility of dyeing and printing have been removed, thereby allowing all category of manufacturers and exporters of home textiles to get R&D support.
Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) Chairman Suhail Mahmood Haral said that local cotton should be used by textile mills, as this sector is the bastion of our agricultural economy. He said that lint should not be imported by textile millowners from India or elsewhere, as this would damage the interests of local farmers.
Cotton Leaf Curl Virus (CLCV) is responsible for the low production due to which the Cotton Crop Assessment Committee (CCAC) had to reduce the production target from 13.82 million bales to 12.41 million bales for the current season, said President Punjab Kissan Board, Khurshid Ahmed Kanju.
The cotton production at ex-farm is projected at 12.4 million bales during 2006-07, which is 15% lower than the actual target of 14.6 million bales, based on the initial assessment.
Federal Minister for Textile Industry Chaudhry Mushtaq Ali Cheema has said that a comprehensive and stable textile policy is on the anvil to address the prevailing crisis in the industry. For this purpose, newly tasked textile strategy subcommittee was undertaking detailed discussions with stakeholders at all important textile centers of the country.
Central Chairman, Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers Association (PHMA), Muhammad Naqi Bari has urged the government to provide free market access and zero-rated tariff to the European Union, USA and Canada. He said the value added apparel exports had been deteriorating since the last one year and likely to further deteriorate unless strong, concrete and positive steps were expeditiously taken by the government.
Vietnamese entrepreneurs have approached Pakistani exporters and invited them to explore $5 billion Vietnamese textile market. A member of Vietnam trade promotion delegation said that Pakistan is currently exporting nearly $9 billion of cotton, and other made-up textile articles. Vietnam is importing about $5 billion worth of the same products annually from world wide.
