APTMA seeks PM’s help

LAHORE: All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) Patron-in-Chief Gohar Ejaz has urged Prime Minister Imran Khan to chair regular meetings of the textile industry stakeholders for monitoring policy implementation, as well as performance in investment and exports, a statement said on Friday.

The industry is committed to achieve $30 billion exports, undertake new investment initiatives and create millions of sustainable jobs, he said, adding that the immediate focus of the government should be on enhancing cotton production by doubling its yield to 1,200kg/hectare from the existing 660kg.

Presently, he said, the industry is dependent on import of 3.5 million cotton bales to meet its consumption by spending precious foreign exchange worth $1.1 billion/annum. An improvement in the cotton yield can take production to over 20 million bales that will save foreign exchange, on the one hand, and earn around $3 billion on the export of surplus cotton.

Gohar said that there is an urgent need to provide a long-term export-led growth policy. The policy implementation should be the focus of the economic managers of the country that would enable the industry and exports to grow at more than 10 percent to 15 percent/annum without interruption and yield precious foreign exchange to mitigate trade deficit.