June 03, 2008	Tuesday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 28, 1429

KARACHI, June 2: The research and development support given to textile sector is likely to be extended for another year in the new budget. However, it would be linked with the volume of exports of an individual exporter rather than a fixed percentage being presently given to various categories, official sources disclosed on Monday.

Sources said the new expected formula would allow exporters to get more research and development (R&D) on higher volume of exports and it would create a competition amongst exporters to increase overall exports of the country.

However, textile exporters totally rejected the new formula expected to be announced in the new budget and believe that it would be discriminatory as it would promote big export-houses which are going to benefit more.

The small and medium-sized exporters would suffer immensely under the new formula because their export volume could never match with those of large exporters-cum-manufacturers.

A leading home textile exporter from Faisalabad Noor Mohammed told Dawn that the new R/D scheme expected in the new budget is likely to totally eliminate small and medium-sized exporters who are already faced with a lot many hardships.

He further stated that when the present system of fixed per cent on different categories of textiles is smoothly working, why government wants to oblige big and strong export houses at the cost of SMEs.

Last year, the government allowed R&D to home textile at five per cent, readymade garments six per cent and finished fabric three per cent. However, this support was initially given to composite textile units only having dying and printing facility in their production cycle.

However, on strong protest from SMEs who were mostly affected by this condition of in-house facility of dying and printing it was later removed which helped exporters to retain their market and also achieve marginal growth in some categories.

Another exporter Ali Akbar said efforts are again being made to repeat last year’s story and it seems that big export houses have succeeded in prevailing upon the new government. However, he said that if it