FAISALABAD, July 26: The five-day strike observed by the Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) from July 11 to July 15 has created serious problems for the textile exporters who are finding it difficult to make timely consignments owing to shortage of fabric and other cloth in the market.

A survey conducted by Dawn revealed that the traders at the yarn and grey cloth markets were facing an artificial shortage of various kinds of fabrics and cloth resultantly prices had gone up by Rs3 to Rs5 per metre.

The exporters have no other option but to buy fabric at higher prices to make shipments on time.

The survey found massive black-marketing of various qualities of fabric including 76x56=35x35, 100x80=40x40, 110x90=40x40, 60x60=20x20, 60x60=16x16, 108x58=20x20, 84x28=7x10, 74x44=10x10, twill, jeans, poplin, drill, sateen, denier etc, was rampant after the end of the strike.

The exporters were of the view that the traders had been minting money taking the advantage of shortage of fabric.

However, the traders have rejected the exporters’ perception.

The members of the Silk Powerlooms Association earlier this week staged a demonstration at the local yarn market against the black-marketing and shortage of fabric and chanted slogans against a textile group and accused it of black-marketing its products.

Sheikh Mohammad Akram, a textile broker, told Dawn that they had been offered fabric in huge quantities before the strike, but now the situation was entirely different.

He said the situation was not good for exporters and the policies of the government had further disappointed the textile industry.

“Surging prices of utility bills will ruin the textile sector as the government has not been paying any attention to the problems confronted by the industry,” he added.

Riaz Shahid, another textile sector leader, said the exporters had been facing more financial crunch after the strike and were perturbed over the situation.

Sources said many FCCI members also expressed disappointment over the Trade Policy 2008-09 and the first address of the prime minister to the nation.

They said the FCCI office-bearers had assured the industrialists that the government would soon withdraw the hike in gas and electricity tariff, but it didn’t happen.

The sources said owners of different textile units were not happy with the FCCI for calling off the strike without acceptance of their demands.