The domestic garment exports fell by $139 million in the fiscal year
2012, prompting manufacturers and exporters to call for financial
assistance to salvage their production losses and overcome soaring cost
of doing business. Attributing the slump in industrial output on acute
shortages of electricity and gas during the past year, exporters said
they suffered eight percent decline in exports of readymade garments in
the last fiscal year.
According to data compiled by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Pakistan''s garment exports declined by $139 million, from $1.773 billion in fiscal year 2011 to $1.634 billion in fiscal year 2012. "Based on official predictions of persisting power and gas outages, exporters are not seeing a bright year ahead," Chief Co-ordinator of Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (Prgmea), Ijaz A Khokhar told Business Recorder on Wednesday.
With the availability of just six to eight hours of electricity to industrial units, how the country could increase its exports, he said, adding that the quantum of imports, however, surged in the previous fiscal year. Urging the government to provide financial assistance, he said that a five percent relief in taxes and levies could help boost industrial output and help manufacturers battle soaring inflation and rising cost of doing business, besides helping them offset the effects of the unavailability of power and gas.
"The government can at least utilise the Export Development Fund (EDF) to help the ailing export sectors," he maintained, adding that there was also a need for implementing the textile policy to devise a long-term solution for overcoming industrial stagnation.
According to his assessment, garment exports had declined by at least 15 percent. Terming official statistics "inflated" and "unreal", Khokhar said that the production of garments had declined between 35 percent and 40 percent because of persistent shortages of electricity and gas.
He said that labourers had become 30 percent more expensive, adding to the overall cost of production, making domestic products uncompetitive in global markets. Expressing concern, he said that despite the presence of lucrative opportunities, local investment had completely stopped. "Lack of confidence in the system has quashed investors'' hopes about progress," he said.
Hinting that growing unemployment would impact the country's fragile economy, he suggested that the government should introduce realistic policies. He feared that the government's growing reliance on IMF''s financial assistance would sink the country's economy forever. He said that the government should put an end to poorly coordinated policies if it wanted Pakistan to develop.
According to data compiled by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Pakistan''s garment exports declined by $139 million, from $1.773 billion in fiscal year 2011 to $1.634 billion in fiscal year 2012. "Based on official predictions of persisting power and gas outages, exporters are not seeing a bright year ahead," Chief Co-ordinator of Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (Prgmea), Ijaz A Khokhar told Business Recorder on Wednesday.
With the availability of just six to eight hours of electricity to industrial units, how the country could increase its exports, he said, adding that the quantum of imports, however, surged in the previous fiscal year. Urging the government to provide financial assistance, he said that a five percent relief in taxes and levies could help boost industrial output and help manufacturers battle soaring inflation and rising cost of doing business, besides helping them offset the effects of the unavailability of power and gas.
"The government can at least utilise the Export Development Fund (EDF) to help the ailing export sectors," he maintained, adding that there was also a need for implementing the textile policy to devise a long-term solution for overcoming industrial stagnation.
According to his assessment, garment exports had declined by at least 15 percent. Terming official statistics "inflated" and "unreal", Khokhar said that the production of garments had declined between 35 percent and 40 percent because of persistent shortages of electricity and gas.
He said that labourers had become 30 percent more expensive, adding to the overall cost of production, making domestic products uncompetitive in global markets. Expressing concern, he said that despite the presence of lucrative opportunities, local investment had completely stopped. "Lack of confidence in the system has quashed investors'' hopes about progress," he said.
Hinting that growing unemployment would impact the country's fragile economy, he suggested that the government should introduce realistic policies. He feared that the government's growing reliance on IMF''s financial assistance would sink the country's economy forever. He said that the government should put an end to poorly coordinated policies if it wanted Pakistan to develop.
Source: http://www.prgmea.org/nc/27-07-12.html#1
