LAHORE - The government has not implemented even 10 per cent of the Textile Policy so far, as many important decisions are still pending due to paucity of funds despite the fact that textile ministry’s share in exports is around 60 per cent in total exports of the country.All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) has always been guarding the interests of all the whole chain of textile industry, including growers and value-added exporters.Commenting on the observations made by the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Commerce in a meeting, the spokesman said the APTMA contested strongly the case of cotton growers by advocating the implementation of free market mechanism in cotton trade two years back. Only this single step on the part of APTMA has triggered growth in the cotton production due to transfer of Rs400 billion to the cotton farm sector.He appreciated the support of the Ministry of’ Textile Industry in putting in place the mechanism of free market mechanism leading to record 16 million bales this year that has made Pakistan self-sufficient in cotton production. He said the cotton farmers are getting international price for their cotton due to this policy and all credit goes to the Ministry of Textile Industry.Therefore, APTMA strongly dispels the impression of fleecing the growers by the textile industry, saying that it has never supported this approach keeping in view the larger interest of the textile industry.He pointed out that a major part of the initiatives under the Federal Textile Policy 2009-14 have not been implemented yet despite the passage of almost three years. It is only the Technology Up-gradation Fund (TUF) scheme that is announced recently to provide investment and interest rate support to the industry. Otherwise, he said, a large list of initiatives including zero rating of exports, rationalisation of tariff structure, 1pc drawback on local sales of yarn and fabrics and to provide top priority in gas and electricity load management have not been materialised so far. Consequently, he said that some 30pc capacity of the textile industry has become impaired today.The APTMA spokesman has demanded the Chairman of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Commerce to hear the APTMA leadership in the next meeting of the Committee to understand the actual situation on ground and develop harmony of ideas and thoughts on sustainability and growth of textile industry in Pakistan.He said the APTMA wishes a strong growth in overall exports of the country and suggests proportionate allocation of funds on the basis of contribution of each segment to the exports.