LAHORE: Pakistan’s official international trade figures for the six months from April to September show that the country has lost $1.2bn in textile exports on account of acute energy shortages in Punjab.
“If this trend persists over the rest of the current financial year, the textile export losses will go up to $2.2bn,” S M Tanvir, chairman of the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma), told a news conference called in anticipation of the approval of the new five-year textile policy by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) on Thursday.
He said no new investment was being made in the textile industry because of the energy crunch and 52pc rise in the cost of doing business on account of raised electricity prices. He said the industry was ready to invest $1bn a year in new capacities, provided the government guaranteed uninterrupted supply of gas and electricity to the factory.
“If this happens, the industry will double its exports to $26bn in five years,” Mr Tanvir said.
