This is in sharp contrast with the rise of 15 per cent and 38 per cent reported for the last fiscal year (July 2005- June 2006).
Confronted with rising discontent, Islamabad already granted some financial support for "Research and Development" in textile industry.
The programme was announced by mid-July (see a link to our former article below) but does not not answer to current worries.
Surging input costs
According to the Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA), the domestic textile industry is confronted with surging competition from other low-cost countries in Asia, namely Bangladesh, India, China and Vietnam.
Rising energy and financial costs would explain the lack of competitiveness in Pakistan.
Import tariffs for polyester fibers, dyes and other chemical products would also be too high.
The State Bank of Pakistan Monday announced that certain loans would be refinanced.
Pakistan has spent US$4 billion before quotas were eliminated, in order to modernize its textile and clothing industries.
Under the so-called "Textile Vision 2005", the idea was to focus on value-added exports, by limiting yarn exports and using more Pakistani yarns at home.
Although the plan looked successful in the past year, latest data now show a rise in cotton yarn exports while sales of value-added products are falling.
Pakistan Textile Exporters Association
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