February 03, 2008	Sunday	Muharram 24, 1429

KARACHI, Feb 2: Readymade garments manufacturers have drawn the attention of the government towards a major flaw in policy wherein the Research and Development (R&D) support is paid on the export of value added textile items to a lesser number of countries compared to export of home textiles and fabrics.

Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (Prgmea) chairman Bilal Mulla said that the R&D support to readymade garments and apparels was presently being allowed on exports to 32 countries compared to exports to 74 countries in case of home textiles and fabrics.

The result is that our competitors in these countries get cheaper and subsidised fabrics whereas Pakistani exporters have to purchase fabrics from the local market without any subsidy or support, he added.

How could the government expects the exporters to keep competitive in the world market where competition have become tough and profit margins have dwindled to zero, Mr Bilal asked.

He further said that in addition to the European Union (EU) countries, substantial export of garments were also being made to Malaysia, Central Asian countries, Ukraine, Russia, Turkey, Norway, New Zealand and countries in South America and African continent.

Unfortunately, he said R&D support was not allowed on export of garments and other value added items to these countries. The government wants exporters to tap new and emerging markets and also do more value-addition in their products but when policies are framed they are contrary to what is said and the industry is deprived of the genuine support, he added.

He urged upon the policy makers to revisit the R&D scheme and re-design the priorities for boosting exports.