As
the overall export volume remained stagnant in the first seven months
of the current financial year, the shrinking share of textile goods in
exports has been adversely impacting the export sector. During
July-January 2009-10, total exports came to $10.870 billion as against
$10.820 billion in the corresponding period of last year. In the months
under review, textile export proceeds totalled to $5.981 billion over
$5.849 billion in the same months of previous year..Government
claims to diversify the export base by focusing on the sectors other
than the traditional ones, however the figures available on the exports
tell a different story. “No new product or new market has significantly
contributed to the exports and it is the same old and traditional items
that have been making the total export volume,” according to textile
exporters…Textile products remained the mainstay of the
country’s export sector over the years and being the largest industrial
and export-oriented sector, it caters to the employment of a major part
of industrial labour of the country…Textile exporters said that
the most worrisome factor is the stagnant export of textile goods and
whatever is being exported in this category largely comprises of raw
cotton, cotton yarn and low valued textile goods…The value-added
sector, they pointed out is under intense pressure due to a host of
domestic and international issues, which have been making the country’s
products uncompetitive in the foreign markets from its international
competitors…The prolonged power outage, gas shortage, high
financing cost and infrastructure problems are some of the major
issues, which have been hampering the growth of the value-added textile
sector…Also, the high tariffs on the textile goods in EU and US
markets have given leverage to its competitors like Bangladesh and
Vietnam to kick out Pakistani products from these lucrative and
high-priced markets…”It will be a wishful thinking to increase
the export of value-added sector in the present situation when even raw
materials are not available in adequate quantity to run the industrial
units in this sector,” a value-added textile exporter felt…He
noted that revival of textile sector is not possible without the growth
in value-added sector because it is the one, which would fetch better
prices of cotton instead of raw cotton and cotton yarn, which is
presently being exported in huge quantity…”The share of textile
products in the total exports could only be achieved through focus on
the value-added textile chain and if remedial steps are taken, the
textile’s share jumping to 60 percent is not a hard target to achieve,”
he added..
Date:3/4/2010
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