Cotton yarn crisis is likely to persist until the end of December, particularly due to the indifferent attitude of the Textile Ministry, causing colossal loss to the power looms industry and the value-added sector at large. The power looms industry in Faisalabad has already faced the brunt of the situation, closing down extensively and resultantly inviting unemployment fast to the labour force, attached to the industry.

Fifty percent of the value-added sector, on the other hand, has also bogged down to the crisis like situation and they have refused their Western buyers to meet deadlines for the Christmas commitments. A shortfall in cotton output in competing countries of Pakistan, including China and India, has shot up exports of cotton and cotton yarn to these destinations, spiralling up prices of this commodity locally.

The power looms industry and value-added sector are criticising the textile industry for providing cotton and cotton yarn to the competitors at the cost of local industry. The textile industry, on the other hand, is terming it a natural cycle and point out that the phenomenon occurs after every three to four years. But still, they add in the same breath, it would have little impact in bringing the textile industry out of crisis like situation.

It may be noted that the Federal government has offered special incentives to the basic textile industry in the first-ever five-year textile policy, inviting criticism from the value-added sector, which is terming it a textile policy for the elite class.

The Textile Minister, despite his all out efforts and sincerity with the power loom and value-added sector, is terribly helpless in front of the powerful lobby of the textile sector.

Also, he failed in gaining heavy support from fellow ministers in the Cabinet meetings on many initiatives taken by him under the first-ever five-year textile policy because of the limited scope of his ministry comparing with the others. Interestingly, the weak lobby of the power looms industry has also failed to ring the alarm bell in the power corridors of Islamabad, especially in the presence of a strong opposition of All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) to ban exports of the cotton and cotton yarn.

The industry circles are of the firm opinion that it was quite easy for the powerful APTMA lobby to get a decision in favour or against any particular issue than the illiterate and less influential lobby of power looms industry. There were a few press conferences and statements from the value-added sector in support of the power looms industry, but this cosmetic arrangement has badly failed to stir the situation.

All demands of value-added sector for banning export of cotton and cotton yarn have fallen on deaf ear of the government policy-makers. According to the sources in the value-added sector, many value-added exporters are paying high price of the situation, as they have cut a sorry figure in front of their foreign buyers in the absence of cheap cotton yarn.

But still the situation has failed to impress upon the leadership, both in the garments and knitwear industry, and all their demands of banning export of cotton and cotton yarn are restricted to the lip-service. It may be noted that unprecedented loadshedding and abnormal mark-up rate have already played havoc with the value-added sector.

Source: Business Recorder