FAISALABAD, June 2: Ministry of Textile Industry is working on a third package to bail out the textile sector from the crisis. Federal Minister for Textile Industry Ch. Mushtaq Ali Cheema stated this while addressing the members of All Pakistan Textile Association (APTA) at Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA) office here on Saturday.

He said that the textile industry throughout the world was in crisis. “Textile is also a major component of our national economy,” he said and added that it was in this context that the government was fully alive to the problem and various steps were discussed at appropriate levels to bail it out.

However, he said that the future of textile in Pakistan was very bright. He said that the government had already announced two packages for textile sector and now it was working on another package.

“This package will be implemented in parts,” he said and added that some measures would be announced in the budget while some steps would be taken immediately after the federal budget.

He said that new cotton crop would help spinning sector to overcome the crisis while decisions to withdraw gross subsidies would also be announced very soon.

“The research and development facility for the spinning sector is not possible,” he said but assured other measures to help it. He also assured to take up the issue of rescheduling of bank loans with Governor Stand Bank.

He said that Pakistan has become 15pc cheaper as compared to India during last three to four months due to the steps taken by the government. However, it would take some time to trickledown its impact at the grassroots level.

Earlier, APTA chairman Khawaja Adil Mehmood demanded reduction in utilities rates to the level of 2004 to solve the problem of spinning sector.

—APP