Daily Times

The government needs to establish long-term and sustainable policies in consultation with the real stakeholders to enhance exports, increasing foreign exchange earnings for the country. Presently, the high cost of doing business has proved to be dangerous for the export-oriented apparel industry, as the ever-increasing energy, gas and power tariffs are the real threat to the economy amidst high markup rate and continuous fluctuations exchange rate. This was stated in a meeting jointly organized by Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association and the Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association here on Sunday. The participants of the meeting asked the government to take prompt measures to bring down the production costs for the export industry to enable them to compete in the international market. PHMA North Zone Chairman Abdul Hameed said that the export industry is currently having difficulty to compete the global market because of rapid increase in production costs. He said that the high cost of production is not good for our exports.

Abdul Hameed said that high energy tariffs, growing rates of taxes, and lack of skilled labor are the main reasons behind the increase in the cost of production. Manufacturing and production industries have the potential to significantly impact economic growth by reducing unemployment in the country.

“We are the biggest employment generators and largest exporters, contributing two-third of textile exports and one-third of country’s total exports. The apparel sector has an immense potential to create jobs with comparatively low investment and less energy needs, as it generates four times the employment at one-fourth of the energy consumption compared to other textile sectors.”

The chairman said that Pakistan’s industry is struggling in the international market due to challenges such as high inflation, political instability, increased power tariff, rising fuel costs, energy shortages, and lack of R&D. An effective strategy is needed to improve the performance of the industrial sector. The government should facilitate exporters by providing a level playing field to them in terms of business costs, particularly in utility pricing, he suggested. He said Pakistan’s economy, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), is struggling to cope with the current economic crunch, and needs support. Rather than providing subsidies or waivers, the industries are being burdened through rising production cost.