Sialkot
Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PRGMEA) North Zone, chairman Sohail Afzal on Sunday said that value-added garments sector of the textile industry showed 3.03 percent growth in 2018-19 despite various challenges. The value-added garments sector was the major tax payer, largest employment generator in whole textile chain and exporting to US$ 5.5 billion textile products, he disclosed.
Talking to APP, said the sector had a huge scope of expansion and industry comprising mostly on SMEs which needed special attention of the concerned authorities for resource allocation for developing it sound and sustainable level at par with its competitors Turkey, India and Bangladesh.
Sohail said that exporters should focus on market research and market their products. He suggested that ‘One Window’ operation should be introduced for replacing the lengthy procedures that involve interaction of manufacturer with certain government agencies. Social Security, EOBI and other taxes should be merged and deducted at source as a result of which government exchequer will receive more revenue, Sohail added. At present, the garment sector had a very limited product line for export market due to non-availability of the latest fabric locally and foreign buyers demanding new garments based on G3, G4, and technical fabric material and under the circumstance, we need to focus on diversified products to cope with the fast changing global trends, he said.
The chairman further said the government should announce its clear policy for the clearance all pending refund claims in a stipulated time to facilitate exporters and the business community facing serious financial constrains due to blockage of their working capital and without it nobody can run the industry. —APP
