The Pakistan Business Forum (PBF) has demanded textile-focused policy on n urgent basis for economic stability of Pakistan.
Addressing a meeting of the forum in APBUMA (All Pakistan Bed-sheet & Upholstery Manufacturers Association) office here, PBF Punjab General Secretary Arif Ehsan Malik said the production cost had pushed the export sector on the verge of collapse in addition to increasing the unemployment rate which might become a potential threat to overall law and order in the country.
“Therefore, the government must encourage the export sector to drag the economy out of the crisis through phased policies including cutting down the cost of doing business and trimming the interest rate on a top priority basis.”
He said the textile sector was the basis of economic stability. “If the government is really sincere about stabilizing the country economically, it should take urgent steps to increase national exports in addition to reducing the prices of oil, gas and electricity products besides ensuring immediate payment of pending refund claims as economic stability is directly linked with increase in exports,” he added.
He said that only solid steps could save the textile sector from a collapse but the policymakers instead of taking the issue seriously were making unrealistic claims only to get sympathy and votes of people associated with the textile sector.
He said that the government instead of following the dictation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) should remove the anxiety of industrialists and exporters who were earning valuable foreign exchange for the country in addition to providing employment to millions of workers. He said, “Global markets may slip out from our hands due to increase in electricity, gas and oil costs as it would make our products uncompetitive in the international markets.
The domestic textile industry and SME sector are going towards closure again. If immediate heed was not paid to this issue, no government would be able to cope with unemployment and inflation in the country. —APP
