FAISALABAD: Various textile organisations have expressed the apprehensions that a large number of industrial units will be closed if smooth gas supply is not provided to the textile sector.
Addressing a joint press conference, Sohail Pasha, chairman of the Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA), and the representatives of the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association, the All Pakistan Textile Processing Mills Association and Khurrianwala Industrial Estate Association rejected the government plan to suspend gas supply to the textile sector. Pasha termed the plan as an attempt to shut down the entire industrial chain and urged the government to rescue the textile industry from energy crisis and liquidity crunch.
He appreciated the sincere efforts of Textile Minister Abbas Khan Afridi to fulfill the Prime Minister’s vision of economic revival and to double the country’s exports. Pasha acknowledged his true support to remove the obstacles in industrial growth. However, he expressed disappointment over on-cooperative attitude of the other institutions and ministries. He said that declining trend in exports will negatively affect the national economy.
Giving details, he said that overall exports of the country have dropped by 10.16 percent and textile exports by 4 percent during the first quarter of the current fiscal year. In July, the textile exports were downed by 2.37 percent, in August by 8.38 percent and in September by 1.16 percent.
Naveed Gulzar of the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association said that industrialists have been repeatedly showing concerns over the situation, but no policy maker is ready to listen to them. He deplored that the government is not addressing the reasons behind the energy crisis and situation could become worse in the coming months. Gulzar added that the policymakers were not serious in resolving gas supply issue of the textile industry and available gas is being supplied to the unproductive sectors.
