Pakistani textile exporters have criticised a huge cut in gas supply quota for textile industries, describing it as an “attempt to shatter the whole industrial chain”, the country’s newspapers have reported. They were of the view that apart from the industry’s discomfort, the government will ultimately lose on many counts. The government should ensure at least 25 per cent gas supply to textile exporters in winter under the quota regime and take serious cognisance of the matter in order to support the industry, the Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA) said in a statement. PTEA Chairman Asghar Ali condemned the reduction of gas supply to textile industry to 17 per cent and termed the move as unilateral. Rejecting the argument of gas managers that the supply is squeezed in winters, he stressed that weather has not yet touched the critical point. “Gas supply to the textile sector has never dropped beyond 20 per cent in the past; the current reduction will drastically curtail goods’ manufacturing, making it impossible for the exporters to meet commitments,” said Ali. The PTEA termed energy shortage as the prime cause of economic instability and decline in industrial growth as sizeable textile capacity had been severely impaired and textile exports, both in quantity and value terms had declined across the value chain. “It is very unfortunate that energy shortfall has totally been shifted to the industry,” they said. “Government, on the one hand, is contemplating to increase targets for industrial growth and, on the other hand, its unjustified decisions are posing severe threats for achieving the said targets.” With a share of $6 billion from a total of $13.9 billion worth of textile exports, Punjab is a major stakeholder, PTEA Vice Chairman Arif Mahmood Qureshi said. He pointed out that here has been a decline of 11.38 per cent in exports in October this year compared to the same month of previous fiscal year. The PTEA called upon the government to take serious cognizance of the matter and to take progressive steps to stabilise the industry.
