Textile and textile-related industries of Pakistan have laid off nearly seven million employees due to a continuous decline in exports and the failure of the coalition government to deal with the economic crisis.
Addressing a joint news conference on Monday, the representatives of textile associations said that the government is not making any serious efforts currently to resolve the issues of textile producers and exporters. While several units have already closed, putting the industry on the verge of closure, many others are preparing to shut down operations or move production units overseas, noted the representatives of textile associations. The closure of several production units and a sharp decline in production capacity have resulted in layoffs.
Lack of raw materials
They also complained that textile mills do not have access to raw materials and accessories, including letters of credit worth at least $5,000. This is putting at risk export orders of worth as much as $500,000 per shipment.
The industry representatives further said that the blockage of manufacturing materials across the country is disturbing production, resulting in the cancellation of export orders while the delay in shipment of numerous consignments is considerably increasing their costs.
Poor government performance
They further highlighted that the government’s performance over the last nine months has been disappointing, with two finance ministers failing to put the ongoing economic crisis to an end. The representatives also expressed disappointment over the government’s lack of seriousness in resolving the problems of the textile industry and exporters, highlighting that neither the prime minister nor the finance minister had met with the exporters.
Economy is facing an emergency-like situation
The industry reps warned that the industrial sector cannot function under such extreme conditions because concerns of sovereign default have been increasing while “the government’s finance and economic team appears to be asleep at the wheel”. They said the country is in the middle of a dollar crisis and the economy is facing an emergency-like situation, which can only be overcome by promoting exports.
Many senior representatives of the association, including the coordinator of the Value-Added Textile Forum Muhammad Jawed Bilwani, Chairman of Pakistan Knitwear and Sweater Exporters Association RafiqGodil, Chairman of Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PHMEA) Muhammad Babar Khan, Zonal Chairman PHMEA KhizerMehboob, and former chairman Pakistan Cloth Merchants Association Abdul Samad, addressed the press conference.