February 24, 2008	Sunday	Safar 16, 1429

KARACHI, Feb 23: The Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers & Exporters Association has clarified a report “Subsidy fails to boost textile exports”, appeared in Dawn on February 20.

In a statement issued here on Saturday, the Association said the amount of R&D support extended by the government had gone up mainly due to export’s volume increase in unit price.

It said that not a single penny of R&D subsidy had been diverted by the garment industry to other sectors.

The association admitted that there was a decline in export of readymade garments and textile and clothing during the first half of the current financial year over the correspondent period of last year, but it held the law and order situation and electricity and gas load-shedding responsible for the situation.

It said most of the garment units had utilised the 6 per cent R&D support to improve themselves. The association demanded that the R&D should be enhanced to compensate the losses suffered by the industry.