ISLAMABAD - Apart from rendering thousand of people unemployed, the ongoing energy crisis had badly affected the country’s textile sector that would result in reduction in its export by $5 billion by the end of current financial year 2011-12, The Nation has learnt on Monday.
“The textile exports will reduce by some $5 billion during the ongoing financial year that will result in achieving $11 billion exports against the target of $16 billion”, said Gohar Ejaz, leader of All Pakistan Textile Mills Association while talking to The Nation. However, he was optimistic that overall exports could go $13 billion if government provides uninterrupted power supply to textile industry in the remaining period of the ongoing fiscal year.
It might be mentioned here that country’s exports had declined by 6.73 per cent during the first seven months (July-January) of the ongoing financial year against the same period last year. According to figures of PBS, the country exported textile commodities worth $6.936 billion in July-January 2011-12 against $7.437 billion of July-January 2010-11. Due to decline in textile’s exports, the country’s overall exports might not reach previous year level of $24 billion owing to the ongoing prevailing energy crisis in the country. The country is facing worst kind of power crisis from last few years that had rendered thousand of people unemployed, which lead them to take streets for registering protest. According to Gohar Ejaz, textile sector got proper electricity and gas only in four months of the first eight of the ongoing financial year. On the other hand, official sources told The Nation that textile exports did not decrease only due to the ongoing power crisis prevailing in the country but it also decline due to the international market situation wherein prices of textile commodities had reduced.
The PBS data showed mixed export of textile group, as exports of some commodities went up while exports of some goods registered decline in July-January 2011-12 period. According to the figures, the product-wise details showed that raw cotton export has increased by 13.47 per cent in the first seven months of the current financial year, cotton yarn exports had decreased by 21.89pc, cotton cloth exports went up by 0.27pc, cotton carded exports declined by 60.92pc, yarn exports up by 24.01pc, knitwear export declined by 8.69pc , bed wear, 9.18pc, towels, 6.70pc, tents export enhanced by 183.17pc, readymade garments, 0.94pc, art silk and synthetic textile exports decreased by 8.28pc, made up articles export reduced by 7.32pc and other textile materials exports decreased by 0.35pc in July-January period of 2011-12 against the July-January 2010-11 period, said the PBS data.