KARACHI: All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) has demanded the government of continuing regionally competitive energy tariffs.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the APTMA said:
Exports of textiles and apparel increased by 23% year on year to $15.4 billion in 2020-21, up from $12.5 billion in 2019-20. Textile exports grew by 26% in the first 10 months of this fiscal year, from $ 12.7 billion to $ 16 billion.
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Furthermore, by the end of the fiscal year in June 2021-22, clothing and textile exports are expected to earn $ 21 billion significant contribution to supporting the Balance of Payments deficit.
Textile exports are expected to increase to $ 27 billion next financial year as a consequence of the new capacity installed through TERF & LTFF over the last year.
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Furthermore, there are speculations that the Government is considering Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) through a voucher scheme to curtail raw material imports.
The impact of any non-tariff barrier on raw material imports would be disastrous. Changing/ discarding a winning formula can lead to extremely negative outcomes.
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Regionally Competitive Energy Tariffs (RCETs) across the value chain, as well as an unrestricted import of raw materials and spare parts for exports are essential for a rapidly the growing textile exports.
APTMA urges the government to continue with the Regionally Competitive Tariffs for the entire value chain and not to impose any non-tariff barrier on raw material or spare parts for the industry.
