“Textile industry layoffs prove incompetency of Pakistan government”

Islamabad [Pakistan], January 11 (ANI): Dwindling textile sector exports in Pakistan and the government’s incompetency to address and handle the ongoing economic crisis have cost seven million people their jobs, the Dawn reported.

Addressing a joint press conference on Monday, representatives of the Value-Added Textile Association said that the industry is on the verge of a shut down as many units have already closed down. Several others are planning to either shut down or shift their production abroad, according to the Dawn report.

The current Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government under Shehbaz Sharif and the preceeding Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government under Imran Khan have proved unsuccessful in handling the economic crisis of the country that has been persisting for a long time now. The Dawn report further cited a representative of the association as saying that Letters of Credit worth as low as USD 5,000 are being refused, which has hit the export orders of $500,000 per consignment.

“It’s causing severe disruption and production delays and has led to the cancellation of export orders. Demurrage on various consignments has increased the cost too much, they said. Notably, these factors denoted by the association members end up increasing the stress and economic crisis of the textile industry, the representative was cited as saying by the publication.

These members also claimed that even though there is a crisis, the government has been importing expensive luxury cars like BMWs for cabinet members. These imports will have no contribution to foreign exchange earnings, according to the Dawn report.

The Dawn report further mentions members questioning “How could you spend foreign exchange on essential items and energy if you don’t earn it first?” referring to the placement of the fund-generating textile industry on the third place in the nations priority list, also the members that placement of this issue on a lower position shows the poor judgment of the country’s policymakers.

The press conference reported by Dawn was addressed by the coordinator of the Value-Added Textile Forum Muhammad Jawed Bilwani, Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PHMEA) Chairman Muhammad Babar Khan, PHMEA Zonal Chairman Khizer Mehboob, Pakistan Knitwear and Sweater Exporters Association Chairman Rafiq Godil and Pakistan Cloth Merchants Association former chairman Abdul Samad.