Delay in new textile policy poses big challenge for Pakistan textile industry

The delay in reintroducing the textile policy poses a big challenge to the Pakistan textile sector to deal with the global buyers for the coming seasons. The entire textile sector is under stress for want of a policy and held up in midway to carry on their global trade especially with the EU under the GSP Plus regime as the textile policy lapsed last month. The policy that helps the industry boost.

Neither the government has evolved strategy to meet the target of $1 billion textile export to the EU under the GSP plus facility nor has it reintroduced textile policy to make thing clear for the textile exporting sector.

According to Chief Co-ordinator, Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufactures and Exporters Association (Prgmea), Ijaz A. Khokhar, the federal commerce ministry and its affiliated Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) are out of focus to streamline the country’s economic growth. The government need to focus on Eastern Europe without wasting time to find new markets for its textile products under the GSP plus facility.

Around 7 percent textile export growth to the EU is a routine trend indicating that the GSP Plus is not paying off to the country economy. Moreover, the public sector role is largely missing to push ahead the trade with the EU. He said that the garments export however is a little encouraging among the value-added textile sector, but feared the production may not sustain for longer period if the government did not step up to help the ailing industry revive.

As per Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the export of readymade garments increased by $20.893 million (12.33 per cent) to $190.284 million in May 2014 from $169.391 million in May 2013. While, the quantity of readymade garments rose by 675, 000 (31 percent) to 2,886,000 dozens from in May 2014 from 2,211,000 dozens in May 2013.

In term of volume, readymade garments export grew by 2,359,000 dozens (10 per cent) to 26,987,000 dozens in July-May 2013-14.

Without the textile policy, the textile industry which is Pakistan’s largest exporting sector is under major stress and with no direction to achieve the target set.