Karachi, Pakistan
January 22, 2009
Source:
Daily Dawn via
Pakistan Biotechnology
Information Center (PABIC)
Farmers will start growing
Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton with official permission from
next kharif, Federal Textile Minister Rana Farooq Mohammad Khan
informed a gathering of local businessmen on Thursday at Karachi
Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The textile minister in his first visit to the KCCI told
businessmen about his efforts within the government to ensure
payment of Rs10 billion arrears of the research and development
subsidy to textile exporters.
He did not make any specific reference but implied that this
amount pertained to subsidy on textile exports made during June
25 to June 30 last year for which the SBP had suspended
disbursement.“I am also trying to support textile exporters in
any other possible way if not by research and development
subsidy,” he stated while pointing out that he knows nothing
about the textile industry since he was a grower and therefore
knows how vital is cotton and textile are for the country’s
economy.
The minister declares that textile is mainstay of the economy
and though he is not involved in this business but wants revive
the lost glory of this sector. He wondered as to why his
predecessor in the textile ministry who was a leading textile
businessman failed to deliver any good to his colleagues.
He promised to raise issues of gas and electricity supply and
tariff within the government to find out some solution.
But Rana Farooq’s speech was more of a political rhetoric and
his personal explanation to contest as an independent candidate
in February 2008 elections that returned him on provincial and
national assemblies’ seat and finally won him a slot in federal
cabinet for a job which by his own admission “I know nothing.”
The minister failed to pick up a finer point of Pakistan’s
textile export structure, when Zubair Motiwala, a former KCCI
president, informed him that out of about $10 billion worth of
total export hardly $200 million to $500 million textile export
was of designers’ standards that fetch premium value.
The $10 billion textile exports from Pakistan also include $2.5
billion worth of cotton, yarn and fabric sold out to our
competitors in the world from which they earn $25 billion. “This
is our money which we are passing on to our competitors by
selling input of their value added sectors at throwaway prices,”
Zubair complained.
“How can you expect us to compete when our competing textile
industry in Bangladesh gets gas and electricity at virtually
half of the price on which we are getting,” he remarked, while
informing that quite a good number of Pakistani textile business
people are now in Dhaka where they are earning two times and
even three times more what they earn in Pakistan.
KCCI President Anjum Nisar reminded the minister of the
tremendous burden of banks’ interests on viability of textile
industry and demanded a moratorium. The minister remained
non-committal on this issue.
Source by: Pakissan.com,
Daily Dawn via
Pakistan Biotechnology
Information Center (PABIC) |
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