‘Pakistan needs to modernise spinning industry’

KARACHI: Pakistan needs to modernise spinning industry to boost its textile exports, Shaohui Zhang, head of a Chinese delegation, said on Tuesday.

The six-member Chinese delegation from China TexmaTech Co, the China’s state-owned company, visited the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) to discuss and explore potential of textile sector. “A spinning unit is required to produce one million spindles in order to compete in the international market for exporting textile products,” Zhang said.

“In Pakistan, the capacity of spindles production is very low, which was the major reason of un-competitiveness of Pakistan’s exportable goods,” he added. Pakistan has high quality cotton and good quality labour. “With the technology advancement these can be utilised in a better way to produce high quality yarn,” he added. The head of the Chinese delegatation said his country is producing only high quality yarn, otherwise their textile could not compete in the international markets.

He offered Pakistani textile sector use of Chinese machinery, which are producing good quality yarn. He also said enhancing production through such machinery could be consumed through export to China, which was the biggest market in the world. If Pakistan and Chinese businessmen jointly start production than one million spindles are not a big task. “It will help Pakistan fetch better foreign earnings, besides will also increase wages,” he added.

Zhang said that China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is not only an infrastructure project, but it has different dynamics. Pakistan’s industries should avail of this opportunity, he added. Manzoor ul Haq Malik, acting president of the FPCCI, praised the Chinese for their in-depth research on Pakistani textile sector.

He directed the FPCCI’s research department to prepare reports on Pakistan’s potential of textiles and how the local textile manufacturers could avail of Chinese offers.

Dr Ikhtiar Baig, FPCCI standing committee on banking, credit and finance chairman, highlighted the outcome of the discussions, saying that Pakistani small spinning units should be scaled up and there is need to upgrade technology.