ISLAMABAD, Nov 20: The caretaker government is considering a proposal to set up “Common Facility Centres” (CFCs) in the proposed Textile and Garment Cities to help improve the efficiency of the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

Informed sources told Dawn on Tuesday that the official planners believed that such centres were needed to greatly support SMEs as they lacked modern designs and production capabilities. And this would be done by providing essential machining facilities and other common services at these centres which would help in gaining greater competitive strength and developing collective efficiencies.

This would also encourage cooperation between firms in upgrading technology, organising consultative meetings and disseminating information, they added.

The rapid promotion of textile sector, sources said, needs a coordinated infrastructure of policy, plans and programmes. The implementation of such policies and programmes will be more effective if most of the industry is located within a specific geographical area.

The textile sector consists of a large number of SMEs and these clusters are mostly located in Faisalabad, Lahore and Karachi. Declaring them as Textile Cities will help in bringing necessary infrastructure both physical and human and facilitate implementation of policies. In addition, it was also recommended to declare Lahore and Karachi as Garment Centres. The clusters are important to provide cost-effective solution to deliver targeted technical assistance for upgrading technology, management and marketing.

Aggressive marketing of textile products in the global market is essential for the promotion of the sector. The image of Pakistan as supple of quality products required to be promoted through regular participation in international product exhibitions and trade fairs. It was proposed to arrange single country fairs, road shows and that exhibitions could also be arranged to promote Pakistani products.

The government was told to direct the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) to work out a “country specific strategy” for each product for effective international marketing. It should also help the private firms in their endeavours to build image and brand name.

In this regard it was also purposed to encourage joint

ventures in the apparel sector to benefit more than other segments of the textile industry from foreign investment. Joint ventures with foreign apparel manufacturers would put Pakistan’s industry in the international supply chain, bring in new technology and even help in introducing Pakistani brands in the global market.

The TDAP, the Board of Investment (BoI) and the textile ministry could play an effective role in encouraging joint ventures in the textile sector.

It was said that the apparel industry needed to improve the product quality, move up the value chain, lay technology foundations and strengthen global business operations to generate more employment opportunities as well as becoming a global player.

Emphasis is also needed to be placed on the promotion of value added products, especially in new designs and products. To facilitate transformation of the textile sector into a dynamic and international competitive industry, it was recommended to facilitate the industry to attain and sustain a dominant position in the made-up garments.

Revitalising the institutional structure to strengthen skills and capabilities of human resources and enabling the industry to move into a high technological orbit, and encourage the active public private partnership was also proposed by the official planners.