August 27, 2002	Tuesday	Jamadi-us-Saani 17,1423

ISLAMABAD, Aug 26: The government has launched benchmarking campaign for the textile sector to maximize its productivity and has selected 11 spinning mills mostly located in Punjab to go through this process as a first step.

The National Productivity Organisation (NPO), an expert agency under the Ministry of Industries and Production, has been directed to carry out benchmarking study of the spinning industry because this sector has the maximum leverage for output improvement.

A Belgium-based textile expert of the Asian Productivity Organization (APO) Geert De Clercq has been assigned to finalize best practices and productivity standards for the spinning sector over a period of next ten days following interaction with the leading spinning players.

Minister for Commerce and Industries Abdul Razak Dawood told reporters here on Monday that spinning sector has been selected for the benchmarking under which specific standards would be set and every company would have to achieve those productivity standards.

He said that NPO would publicise the names of companies who achieved these productivity standards. As a first step, 11 companies have volunteered to go through these tests because they realised that they should increase their productivity level for cost effective production and to compete in the international market.

He said that because of high utility prices particularly the electricity tariff, benchmarking was the only option left with the industrial sector to increase profit margin through increased productivity.

He said that the government would not take any legislative or administrative measures to force the companies for enhanced production but when they would see that their contemporaries had increased their profit margins through reduction in wastages, and were becoming competitive in the international market, they would themselves be forced to follow suit to remain in the business.

To a question, the minister said that productivity level in Pakistan was better than India but the government would study the best performing textile sector in the region to set its standards.

He said that if productivity level was increased by 5 per cent, this would have a reverberating effect over the industry and the campaign would then be extended to the weaving and the knitting industry.

The companies that have been selected for benchmarking include Pak-Kuwait Textile, Din Textile, Adil Textile, Shadman Textile, Dar es Salaam Textile, Shams Textile, Crescent Textile, Crescent Ujala, Reliance Weaving Mills, Nishat Chunian and Amer Cotton Mills.

Meanwhile, Rs47 million budget has been approved for Expert Advisory Cell and National Productivity Organization to be spent on various technical and analytical studies and other research and development works during the year 2002-03. The budget was approved at a meeting of board of directors of expert advisory cell on Monday presided over by the commerce minister.

The major portion of the budget will be met by the funds provided by NFC and Pakistan Steel Mills while other corporations would also make contributions.