Cotton yarn: call for devising clear-cut export policy-Texglobe

FAISALABAD (July 02 2010): Value added textile exporters have urged the government to come out clearly with a cotton and yarn policy for the next period of 2010-11 to enable the exporters plan for USD 15 billion textile exports benchmark. Talking to newsmen here Thursday, leaders of Value Added Textile Forum Khurram Mukhtar, Rana Mushtaq Khan and Sohail Pasha, while appreciating USD 10 billion exports of textiles in the outgoing fiscal, said that for the fourth consecutive year, exports of textile group have maintained USD 10 billion plus export benchmark.

This year's achievement is notwithstanding the off again on again policies and uncertain raw material market volatility, they said. However, they said, due to unbridled exports of cotton and yarn, the volume of value added textile items exports remained static and no worthwhile progress could be gained in this regard.

Had the government adopted realistic, factual, fair and balanced policy for textile sector, while at the same time making the basic and essential raw material available to value added industry, much more foreign exchange and better results could have been earned and exports of textile group shown better results.

Still, exports of textile could show a quantum jump of 50 percent in a year if the government announces clear cut policies about cotton and yarn well in advance, thus providing sufficient space and time to exporters to plan increasing of export turnover.

Commenting, Khurram Mukhtar said textile group is the main foreign exchange earning sector of the economy, fetching more than 52 percent of country's foreign exchange.

The textile industry is also most labour intensive, employing more than 40 percent of national workforce hence this sector needs clear-cut and conducive policies. Another textile leader Rana Mushtaq Khan said textile sector is the largest revenue generating sector as well as mainstay of the economy.

Proper planning and supportive polices of the government would go a long way towards strengthening of this sector, he said. Sohail Pasha opined that export trade was a long process where foreign buyers' place orders four months in advance and are very strict about delivery schedule.

It is, therefore, of vital importance to save the textile exports from market fluctuations and volatility ensuring smooth availability of raw material to fulfil their international commitments, as well as to retain their hard won export markets, he stressed.