550m kg yarn export recommended

ISLAMABAD - The Senate Standing Committee on Textile Industry on Thursday discussed the ongoing yarn crisis in the country and asked the Govt for its early solution.
A meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Textile Industry was held at the Parliament House, which was presided over Senator Gul M Lot, the Chairman of the body.
Secretary Textile Dr Waqar Masud gave a detailed presentation on the availability of yarn and cotton, and also informed the committee on the export of yarn and cotton in the first half (July-December) of the ongoing fiscal year (2009-10). The committee was informed that in July-Dec period 13.9m kg were produced in the country, which is 22pc higher than the same period of the last fiscal year (2008-09).
The Committee was also informed that in the first six months of the current financial year, 368m kg yarn was exported to the other countries, which is 18m kg more than that in the said period of the previous year. Export of cotton is the backbone of the countrys economy as it contributes about 62pc of the total export earnings of the country, the participants of the meeting were informed. The members of the Committee said that industries should cooperate for the larger interest of the cotton crop. The export of yarn, which on average stood at 527 million kg per year during the last 3 years is planned to be enhanced to 550 kg in next few years.
It was observed by the Committee that there is a need to make all out efforts to achieve the export target of $25 billion in the five years (2009-14).
The Committee appreciated the fact that the present cotton crop in Pakistan has been very productive as opposed to the situation internationally. The present crisis in the textile sector relates to striking a balance between demands and expectations of two parties, basic to the issue at hand i.e. APTMA and representatives of downstream industries, it was observed. Another observation of the Committee was that our country needs foreign exchange, which can only increase through the export of value added products. Both the industries i.e. yarn exporters and textile industries need to be saved, as they are inter-connected. The meeting was attended by Senators Ch Shujaat Hussain, Dr M Ismail Buledi, Mir Jan M Khan Jamali, Deputy Chairman Senate, and Mushahidullah Khan, besides Minister for Textile Industry M Farooq Saeed Khan and others.