Big firms to join protest against yarn export

FAISALABAD: Power Loom owners, local Textile manufacturers, Hosiery manufacturers, Bedsheet manufacturers, sizing industries and textile processing mills have also announced to participate in protest campaign against the export of cotton yarn and abnormal increase in its prices in the domestic market.

In a meeting held here Friday, representatives of the value addition textile industries expressed resentment and contended that downstream industry was collapsing on account of unviable and beyond reach prices of cotton yarn in domestic market.

The meeting observed that prices of 20 single cotton yarn, which were Rs.600 per bundle few weeks ago, have jumped to Rs.860 per bundle. Textile exporters, who had finalized export orders with foreign buyers at earlier rate, were finding it difficult to fulfill their commitments.

It was pointed out in the meeting that due to unrestricted export of cotton yarn, the industry was facing supply crunch. Acute supply position of the yarn in the local market has virtually made inoperative, hundreds of power looms, hosiery, sizing, garments units while rest are on the verge of closure, rendered lack of workers jobless.

Contesting the claim of the spinners body Pakistan Textile Mills Owners Association (APTMA) of free trade order, they pointed out that "unbridled export of raw material was tantamount to killing the home industry, creating unemployment and joblessness in the country".

They demanded that export of cotton yarn should be capped at last year's volume and the downstream value addition textile industry should be allowed to survive and earn five times more foreign exchange compared to export of cotton yarn.