Islamabad: It was left to the caretaker government in crisis hit Pakistan to intervene after 1,600 textile factories across the value chain shut operations in last 16 months.
“A strategic framework is being finalised to provide regional competitive energy pricing, working capital support, speedy refund payments, enhanced market access, and diversification of products”, Caretaker Commerce Minister Gohar Ejaz told Dawn Saturday.
“The policy announcement is scheduled for this month to unlock the full production capacity potential within the country”, he added.
The minister highlighted that the shutdown of textile industries was across the entire value chain, from ginning, weaving, spinning, and processing to garment manufacturing.
“Many industries are also operating at reduced production levels”, he said.
The commerce minister said that around 20 percent of the overall installed capacity in the textile and clothing sector was impacted in the last 16 months.
At present, there are 6,300 textile and clothing manufacturers registered companies with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan.
Additionally, more than 1,800 are registered under the category of associations of persons. Within this overall figure, the number of textile and clothing exporters registered with the Ministry of Commerce is recorded at 2,000, the report said.
The commerce ministry under the plan estimates that Pakistan’s overall exports will reach $80bn in the next five years. The focus of the policy is also on non-traditional sectors — like pharmaceuticals, minerals, gems, and marble.
According to the PBS data, the exports in August reached $2.363bn against $2.483bn over the corresponding month of last year, showing a decline of 4.83pc.
In the first two months, the exports fell by 6.38pc to $4.431bn this year against $6.054bn over the corresponding months of last year.
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