In October 2015, Pakistan’s textile exports declined by over 10 per cent as compared to the same month last year mainly due to continuous energy shortage, high cost of production and declining prices globally.

According to the latest figures of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), Pakistan’s textile exports were $1.05 billion in October 2015 as against $1.18 billion of the same month of last year, down 10.69 percent.

“Due to high cost of electricity, we are unable to give a competitive edge in international market. Other countries are providing incentives to their textile sector,” said an official of the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA).

Moreover, due to current crisis, some textile industrialists are shifting their investing in other profitable industries like cement, wood, and fertilizers, though these industries, unlike textiles, focus on the domestic market mainly.

Textile industry representatives said that the current situation of textile industry is due to the fact that the government had failed to fulfill promises it made to the sector last month.

The government had fulfilled only two demands out of eight, however, did not settle the issues of electricity prices, tax refunds and zero rating of sales tax.