KARACHI: The government should not make mockery of textile industry and should behave seriously in dealing with energy issues. The government should inform textile sector once for all instead of switching on and off supplies time and again, the representatives of cotton, garments, yarn and textile made-ups sectors have maintained.
Affordability has become real issue today and they demanded availability of electricity at 8 cents per unit for viability of textile industry in Pakistan.
Energy constraints have greatly hampered the opportunity of Generalised System of Preferences plus facility from European Union to Pakistan.
Pakistan is on the top in term of electricity tariff for industry in the region and cost of electricity for industry comes to around 16 cents in Pakistan, which is costlier in comparison to the regional competitors including India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Ghulam Rabbani, senior member of Pakistan Yarn Merchant Association, Rana Abdul Sattar, former chief Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association, Shakeel Ahmad President Sindh Agriculture Forum, Jawed Bilwani of Pakistan Apparel Forum, Gohar Ejaz, Ali Pervez and members of Pakistan Textile Exporters Association and All Pakistan Textile Mills Association were of the view that how these sub sectors of textile industry could celebrate textile policy on uninterrupted energy supply. Non allocation of funds in budget for duty drawbacks on account of Rs 180 billion textile package would be remained a dream.
Textile sector had communicated its concerns about the sustainability of the industry and the threats oozing out of the current situation for the backward and forward linkages, including the problems in procurement of upcoming cotton crop.
The imposition of global line loss figures on textile industry has increased the electricity cost by 69 percent.
While linked with gas shortage, the Punjab-based textile mills were paying Rs 100 billion additional under the head of energy costs against other provinces.
There was no subsidy of any sort on the textile industry’s electricity tariff.
India is extending rebates and other facilities to it textile industry for mitigating impact of GSP plus status by European Union to Pakistan.
The anticipating textile exports of Pakistan to $30 billion in next five years would remain a dream in case energy supply remained dismal.
It would be a miracle to sustain present level of $11 billion exports under the prevalent energy supply situation.
The country may lose $2.7 billion exports in total in case the prevailing energy shortage continues. Why government was not serious in sustainable growth of textile industry in the country. The value added industry has secured substantial export orders but they have no idea whether to meet deadlines under given circumstances.
The textile sector has been communicating since long with Ministry of Textile Industry, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Water and Power and Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources about the problems being faced by the textile industry due to energy constraints.
Punjab-based textile mills were getting electricity at 13.5 cents per unit against 8 cent in the region.
We have been trying to sensitise the government with situation and expressed hoped sanity would prevail soon and energy supply to textile industry would resume without further delay.
Textile industry has been burdened with cross-tariff subsidy despite nearly zero line losses on textile industry feeders.
Published in Daily Times, June 22nd, 2017.