Value-added textile sector urges PM to restore EFS, rejects tariff pressure from spinners

LAHORE: The value-added textile sector has once again raised a unified voice to defend the backbone of Pakistan’s export economy -- the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of the apparel industry.

In a joint press conference held at the Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PHMA) Lahore office on Tuesday, PHMA and the Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PRGMEA) called for urgent action to restore the Export Facilitation Scheme (EFS) in its original spirit.

The leadership appealed directly to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to intervene and halt policy changes that threaten to dismantle the EFS. They warned that persistent bureaucratic hurdles -- compounded by lobbying from the spinning sector for new tariffs -- are pushing the SME-led apparel export industry towards crisis.

PHMA Zonal Chairman Abdul Hameed and PRGMEA Zonal Chairman Dr Ayyaz Uddin said that the EFS was introduced to enable duty-free import of raw materials for exporters, giving Pakistan’s apparel industry a competitive advantage. “Rather than simplifying exports, EFS has become bogged down by manual procedures and is now under threat from proposed tariff changes,” said Abdul Hameed.

Dr Ayyaz Uddin emphasised that SMEs, which comprise the bulk of the value-added sector, cannot survive under these conditions. “We operate on thin margins and short timelines. EFS was a breakthrough for us -- but it is now being reshaped to serve upstream interests. These tariffs, reportedly pushed by the spinners’ lobby, protect a narrow segment at the expense of Pakistan’s largest job-creating export base.”