December 24, 2006	Sunday	Zilhaj 02, 1427

ISLAMABAD, Dec 23: The Textile ministry has proposed more than $1 billion private sector investment in the weaving sector for setting up of 40,000 new looms to enhance the production of quality fabrics.

The initiative is expected to boost production of quality fabrics used in the manufacturing of home-textile and garments in the value-added chain as currently in the weaving sector only 10,000 looms were operating for manufacturing quality fabrics.

Well-placed sources told Dawn on Saturday that the proposal among others worked out by a sub-committee constituted by the textile ministry was moved to the prime minister secretariat for formal approval.

The sources said that it was also recommended to declare fabrics as raw material in the value-added sector for manufacturing of home textile and garments. Currently, natural fibre and man made fibre were declared as raw materials since 1970s.

The sources said that it was estimated that in case of installing of these additional looms, the volume of the current textile exports would be doubled easily in the years ahead without any other efforts for enhancing the overall capacity of the entire chains of the sector.

The inefficiency of the weaving sector was attributed one of the reason in the report for the down slide in the exports of the textile products during the last five months of the current fiscal year.

“We can not expect to raise export of textile products beyond an average 10 per cent due to low capacity of the weaving sector. We do not have the capacity for increasing the overall exports from the sector,” a senior official of the textile ministry said on condition of anonymity.

He said that due to the poor performance of the weaving sector, the total export of yarn stood at more than $1.47 billion during the fiscal year 2005-06. Not only this yarn could be diverted to the value addition chain but more yarn could also be imported for manufacturing of fabrics in the country, he added.

Most of the investment in the last years was made only in the spinning sector for production of yarn without any up gradation of the weaving sector. This lack of improper investment only encouraged the export of yarn as a commodity at the cost of developing the value addition chain.

The production of value added products like garments also declined, which ultimately resulted into lower exports. Moreover, the shortage of yarn also resulted into upsurge in the price of fabrics, which would also increase the price of the end-products rendered it less competitive with those coming from other countries, added the official.