Pakistan has the potential to double its textile exports to US$ 26 billion over the next five years, if the Government implements necessary set of policies to revive the textile sector of the country, said All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) Punjab chairman SM Tanveer while speaking to a delegation of the National Management College, in Lahore.

 

The APTMA Punjab chairman said the textile exports could be doubled from the existing US$ 13 billion to US$ 26 billion if the textile sector is revived, reports The Nation.

 

Currently, Pakistan is exporting 21 percent cotton cloth and cotton yarn as semi raw material, and if converted to garments, the total value comes to around US$ 8 billion, he added.

 

Mr. Tanveer said APTMA is trying to encourage the whole textile value chain to take full benefit of the Generalized System of Preferences Plus (GSP+) status attained from the European Union (EU).

 

Both Japan and China are countries which have built up their economies on textile industry and Pakistan can also capitalize on the same account, and since China is becoming expensive, Pakistan can gain in the international market through easy access from the EU, he added.

 

According to the APTMA Punjab official, if the Government makes the textile industry of the country a priority, the sector can excel further.

 

Mr. Tanveer urged the Government to remove the inter province disparity on energy supplies and expressed hope that it would take concrete measures to resolve textile industry issues such as energy problems, investment climate, and high markup rate.