KARACHI, Nov 11: Some of the leading home textiles and apparel manufacturers are leaving for Bangladesh next week to enter into joint ventures as well as to explore the possibility of relocating their units in the wake of rising cost of production and dwindling profit margins.

The textile industry had been complaining about rising cost of production owing to costly export financing and higher mark-up rates. Beside there was a list of other irritants which the industry had been facing since long.

There seems to be general despondency amongst the value-added and home textiles manufacturers who feel that they had been cornered by the policies of the developed countries particularly the European Union (EU) that had imposed anti-dumping duties and also did not give Pakistan any worth mentioning market access and duty concessions.

Similarly, on the domestic front the situation, which slightly improved for some time last year on the reduction in the mark-up and export financing rates, had once again become difficult as higher capital cost again enhanced the cost of production.

Consequently, the value-added and home textiles sectors which are fighting a war of survival now seems to be looking for options other than keep looking at the government. It also seems that they have lost hope of getting any relief from the government and are now looking beyond the national borders by entering into joint ventures or relocating of their units.

A 10-member delegation headed by chairman Pakistan Bedwear Exporters Association (PBEA) Shabir Ahmed is expected to leave on a four-day visit for Bangladesh on November 19. Though names of the delegates have been kept secret but according to business circles some leading industrial groups are also going to enter into joint ventures and if viable relocate their industry to Bangladesh.

It is interested to note that many of these groups in the past had their business and industrial establishments in the then East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, and that land and people are no strange for them and they may feel comfortable and would like to reap the advantages given by the developed countries to Bangladesh of duty free market access for being Least Developed Country (LDC).

The high cost of utilities, electricity, gas and water and their poor quality along with inconsistency in their supply are among those issues which the industry had been complaining for the last so many years to successive government but to no avail.

In Thursday’s meeting with Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar Khan, the Aptma members also raised all such issues and a voice was also raised by Abdul Razzak Teli with regard to labour laws. He complained that despite the fact that he was part of a team which recommended changes in labour laws but so far they had not been approved by the government.

Mr Teli said as a result of this delay, the industry even today had to waste much of its valuable time in interacting with 36 different provincial and federal governments departments, which had lost their worth long time back but were still being kept alive to harass and intimidate export-oriented industry.

“If we have to keep protecting ourselves from these parasites, then how the industry will face throat-cut competition ensued after the quota free market where such big players in textiles and clothing like China and India,” Abdul Razzak Teli asserted. He further said all such factors added to our cost and the industry was left with no choice but to either close down units or locate them somewhere else, he added.

“Yes it is a wake up call and if we all keep indifferent attitude towards our issues ultimately Pakistan will end up as a supplier of yarn and fabrics and the entire value-added textile industry will shift to Bangladesh and other LDCs to benefit from concession given to them by the developed countries”, Shabir Ahmed said.