Textile Exporters Continue to Move Their Businesses to Other Countries

Pakistan Apparel Forum (PAF) Chairman Jawed Bilwani said in a statement published on Saturday that textile exporters have created a committee for due diligence to move businesses in the wake of gas crises and an unviable economic environment.

During a conference of Pakistan’s leading textile exporters, it was revealed that there has been no gas pressure for the past 15 days (from June 11, 2021), crippling factories, and halting export output.

“During the fiscal year 2020-21, gas pressure was nil or low for 99 days out of 320 working days,” he continued.

Furthermore, textile exporters with RLNG connections who pay the bills with difficulty in order to satisfy export orders at a rate of Rs1,533 per MMBtu are disallowed gas.

The exporters expressed concern about how factories would function without the basic raw material. They expressed fears that the textile export businesses would not be able to obtain the needed gas in a timely and efficient manner in the future.

According to a textile sector research expert, Pakistan’s textile industry is one of the country’s most important export sectors. In the first 11 months of the current fiscal year 2020-21, exports totaled $13.8 billion.

“This is more than double the $6 billion IMF facility,” the analyst said, adding that denying the industry access to gas would damage the country’s exports.

Similarly, non-export sectors are not receiving enough gas to meet their needs. According to North Karachi Association of Trade and Industry (NKATI) President Faisal Moiz Khan, these industries also play a critical role in the manufacturing of value-added items for export industries, as well as producing products to fulfill local demand.

“As a result, non-export sectors are just as essential as export businesses and should not be overlooked,” he said.

The textile exporters have formed a committee for due diligence to shift textile export industries elsewhere, on the demand of the exporters, amid the country’s ongoing gas crisis, particularly in Karachi, and given the government’s contradictory moves towards its business policies by depriving the exporters of a level-playing field and viable business environment, Bilwani added.

Khan asked Prime Minister Imran Khan to repair Karachi’s industries and save them from damage so that production may continue as usual and people don’t lose their jobs.