November 7, 2001	Wednesday	Shaba’an 20, 1422

KARACHI, Nov 6: Leather garment exporters, who are normally busy at this time of the year with their foreign buyers in finalizing designs for next season, are sitting idle as foreign visitors are not inclined to take the risk of visiting Pakistan, a leading exporter said here on Tuesday.

“Fear of unknown is keeping our foreign buyers away from Pakistan, and this would result in losing entire garment exports for next season,” a leading leather garment exporter Fawad Ijaz Khan told Dawn.

He said the West war perception was proving to be “highly detrimental to our trade.”

“Normally at this time of the year we are totally bogged down with our foreign buyers in making and finalizing designs as well as preparing collection for next year/season but it is ironic it is no more like that and we are sitting idle,” asserted Fawad.

He said that out of a total export of $690 million of leather and leather goods last year, $372 million or 54 per cent were of garments, but “I fear it would not be the same as no fresh orders are being finalized as of now.”

Most of leather garments go to North America and Europe but leather is largely imported by Far Eastern countries, including China. “Foreign buyers are shifting towards India to maintain their markets,” he said.

There were some inquiries and orders but that too have been lost because of high cost and uncertainty in the region. Against this, he said raw material prices in India and China fell giving further advantage to their products in the world market.

Afghanistan being one of the source for the supply of hide and skins particularly of goat and sheep had been disturbed ever since air strikes by the US and allied forces over that country.

Consequently, he said our cost has actually gone up at a time when already our exports were confronting problems because of war risk charges, high freight charges as well as appreciation of the rupee.