Concern over decline in exports

FAISALABAD: Massive decline in exports during May (both in value and quantity) is alarming and the trend is likely to continue in future unless the industrial crisis is addressed, said Pakistan Textile Exporters Association vice-chairman Rizwan Riaz.
In a statement here on Wednesday, he said that their association had been forewarning the government about the fast looming crisis, but no steps had so far been taken to rectify the situation. He said that the country exported textile goods worth $1.12 billion in May as against exports of $1.19 billion in the same month of the last year, showing a decline of 5.91 per cent.
Textile exports were also down by 1.7 per cent on comparison with July-May period of the previous fiscal, he added. He said that export of value-added items also witnessed negative growth as cotton cloth was down by 15.7 per cent, knitwear 11.32 per cent, bed wear 9.8 per cent and towels 9.23 per cent. He said that the summer had reached its peak but still 33 per cent gas was available to the industries in Punjab. Similarly, the power loadshedding was plaguing the industrial sector, he added.
He said that the exporters were pinpointing the root causes of the industrial decline with repeated requests for necessary remedial steps, but the government remained mum and no proper strategy was carved out to save the textile sector.