FAISALABAD - Unabated export of cotton yarn has shed negative impact on value-added exports as the cloth exports have declined by 10.69 percent in ten months period from July to April of current fiscal. Chairman Pakistan Textile Exporters Association Khurram Mukhtar and Vice Chairman Sohail Pasha talking to newsmen here Thursday said that cloth export sector is a major forex earning sector to the tune of $2 billion plus per year. But due to unrestrained export of yarn, the cloth exports have declined by $175 million. Quoting figures he said that export of cloth in ten-month period (July-April) in 2008-09 were $1641 million which in same period of 2009-10 have come down $1465 million. Similarly the export of cloth in April 2010 was down by $550 million from $1624 million in March 2010 to $1619 million in April 2010. This negative trend in cloth export is due to mainly to free export of cotton yarn from the country, he contended. The situation has further aggravated due to unbridled export of cotton from the country, he said. Elaborating his argument he said, the export of raw cotton from the country has increased by 140pc in July -April ten-month period of current fiscal against same period of last year and there has been an increase of 103pc in export of yarn other than cotton yarn. Criticising the export of $1 per kg earning forex by spinning sector against $8 per kg earning by value added textile sector, Khurram Mukhtar said. Additionally by exporting our raw material to rival countries, we were strengthening the rival exports and making our exports costly and uncompetitive in the international market. They emphasised the importance of saving 18 million workers from unemployment and wage earners from joblessness in case the value added sector of the country was forced to close down. They also questioned the wisdom of exporting one dollar value yarn at the cost of value added finished goods which fetched $8 for the same quantity of yarn. Sohail Pasha added that value added textile sector was the most labour intensive textile sector employing more than 18 million workforce and also large number of ancillary sector.