Textile industry is the backbone of the national economy,contributing nearly one-fourth of the industrial value addition, 8 percent of the gross domestic product and 55 percent of the overall exports. At least 40 percent of the industrial workforce is associated with this industry, but declining trends in the export of cotton products call for the introduction of a new textile policy to save this vital sector of the economy from crisis. According to reports, the textile ministry is envisaging billions of dollars bailout package for the industry to multiply textile exports from the current $13 billion to $26 billion within the next five years.A revised draft of the textile policy is expected be taken up in the next meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee to be held on November 21.
The new textile policy, which will cover the period between 2014 and 2019, is likely to generate three million jobs and 100 percent boost in the industrial activities. It is also expected that the value addition of per million bale will be doubledfrom $1 billion to $2 billion as billions of dollars domestic and foreign investment is expected in this sector. The liabilities of the previous textile policy stand at Rs 47 billion which are expected to be increased to Rs 83 billion in the new policy. However, the industry so far could not fully exploited the GSP plus status due to energy crisis in in the country. Pakistan is still lagging behind various developing countries in the use of technology in the industrial sector, which affects not only the volume and cost of production but also causes wastage of energy and resources.
There is a need to develop fully secured textile cities in the cotton producing regions of the country with tax-free regime to attract foreign investment. The industries in the textile cities should be fully protected by the constitution with employment opportunities within the ambits of the international laws and the International Labour Organisation. Unless an investment-friendly environment is created, infrastructure is established and an open arms invitation is given to the international investors, the dream of a developed Pakistan will be hard to achieve. It is unfortunate that our political leadership invites the foreign investors by spending millions of dollars on advertisements and conferences, but without providing them a space, infrastructure and security to set up industries.
