Export proceeds from quota to exceed $3bn: US, European markets
By Sabihuddin Ghausi
KARACHI, Nov 2: Pakistan's export proceeds from the textile export quota market of the US and Europe will exceed $3 billion during 2004 giving a strong message that exporters
are well prepared to enter the post-quota markets next year with confidence.
"We invested more than Rs200 billion in textile industry during last four years," Aziz Memon an established garment exporter and the chairman of the Textile Export Quota Supervisory Council said. He said that exporters were well geared to enter quota free market of textile after January.
Memon's assertion is illustrated by the performance of Pakistani exporters in the Europe and the US market. In last 10 months Pakistani exporters have fetched better prices and improved upon their supply volumes to the export quota markets of the US and Europe.
About $1.5 billion have been realised from the European market where as much as 63 per cent of sanctioned textile quotas was utilised in last ten months. On a rough average Pakistani exporters fetched more than 14pc better prices than what they had obtained in last year. In terms of hard cash, Pakistani exporters fetched 27pc more value. Their export volume was increased by 11 per cent.
From the US market, the exporters fetched 15pc more value where their volumes surged by over 8pc. Total exports to the US increased by over $1bn. Exporters claim to have made an across the board improvement in many categories of the textile quotas.
In last three years more than Rs22 billion have been invested in the value added sectors in stitching, knitting, finishing and knitting processing. Though garments need much to be desired in terms of quality improvement, the exporters are confident that the oncoming competition will teach them a lot to pay adequate attention to this sector also.
A bumper cotton crop estimated to be over 14 million bales has given tremendous boost to the textiles. There has been firework between the growers and ginners on one side and spinners and other sectors on the other side. But this has not become bitter as it was seen in previous years.
Spinners claim that their cotton requirement is more than 13 million bales because of the installation of many new spindles.
Textile machinery and equipment worth more than $170 million have been imported in first quarter of the current fiscal year and there are indications that this import will go beyond $600 million by June next.
Exporters are somewhat disturbed on the recent steps of the State Bank that moved in swiftly to curb speculative advance booking on imports. Exporters are also worried on the rupee coming under pressure and widening trade deficits. But a fear of rising interest rates is a real nightmare for them. They want the government and the central bank to discuss al these issues with them before the year expires so that they could work out their strategy for entering the quota free market.
