KARACHI, Nov 2: Textile machinery import in the first quarter of this fiscal year is down by about 31 per cent to $145.73 million and that too is from shipments made on previous orders.
Sources in textile business confirmed that neither fresh import orders for textile machinery and equipment were being placed nor any new investment was planned.
“It is only the leftover equipment and machinery from the import orders booked in last five years that is trickling in Pakistan,” a leader of Sindh Balochistan chapter of All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma) informed Dawn by telephone on Thursday.
Officials say that spinning sector has been upgraded in last five years with investment of more than Rs200 billion and what is needed now is modernisation of ginneries, processing and restructuring of value-added textile sector that includes weaving and garments.
Textile industry leaders are now involved in unending series of negotiations with the government to secure relief and concessions that may create environment in which they could feel comfortable to invest and improve their profit margin--which at present is “inadequate and insufficient.”
Official trade statistics for the first quarter of 2006-07 (July-Sept) released in late October reveal that textile machinery import during same period of 2005-06 amounted to $210 million. These imports in the entire fiscal 2005-06 amounted to $771.46 million, which was down by about 17 per cent when compared to $928.60 million a year earlier in 2004-05.The textile business sources put total import of machinery in post 9/11 period at $5 billion plus motivated by the increasing market access availability on purely political consideration because of Pakistan government’s decision to join the war against terrorism and also in anticipation of the opportunities after January 2005 when the Multi-fibre Arrangement (MFA) was phased out.
On the expiry of the textile export quota regime in January 2005, Pakistan did fairly well in first six months and showed an improvement of more than 12 per cent in export earnings in a quota free environment and also because of a relative better market access in USA and the EU.
But then the Asian tigers —-China, India and Bangladesh —-entered the arena with a great fervour and energy and have managed to push out Pakistan from USA and EU markets. An emerging dismal export scenario has dampened the investment climate at home.
Textile industry never witnessed expansion of such magnitude as was seen in last five years and even in Karachi, which is now considered a secondary important textile centre after Punjab, as many as about two dozen new projects have either been completed or are in final stages of completion.
Industrial estates in Federal B Area, North Karachi and even in Site Manghopir were found to be too small by many businessmen, who are now moving to Nooriabad, Kotri and other places where they could find bigger piece of lands.
But now the honeymoon period of textile investment seems to be approaching its end and import of textile machinery is tapering off.
