Stakeholders urged to resolve yarn price issue

KARACHI: The Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association has called for immediate intervention of the textile ministry to control rising yarn prices in the domestic market. PRGMEA Chairman Mohsin Ayub Mirza said on Tuesday that all the stakeholders should sit together and develop a mechanism for profit sharing so that neither any industry becomes sick nor the country suffers and loses export markets. He said a 30 to 40 per cent increase in yarn prices and its shortage due to increase in its export would not only hurt this sector but would also affect inflow of future export orders. Owing to current yarn prices, international buyers are not willing to place orders with Pakistani textile sector. He said the steep rise in yarn prices would deprive the country of short-term delivery advantage, which has been its edge over other textile exporting countries. The textile ministry has set a very progressive export target for the industry but we are afraid that we would not only fail in achieving the export target in the absence of any immediate action on the yarn prices issue but it would also bring the industry to the verge of collapse, he said. Although the situation of the textile industry has improved after the introduction and basic implementation of textile policy, the yarn issue alone can badly hurt the value added textile sector in a worst way than the shortage of power and law and order situation. He urged all the stakeholders to converge to one mutually beneficial agenda and make yarn availability possible for the value added textile sector so that all businesses continue to run smoothly.