Federal Textile Board Committee (FTB) has proposed government to continue with six percent Research & Development (R&D) Fund and extend it to all countries, barring Dubai and Saudi Arabia.
Formed under Chairmanship of Zubair Motiwala in April 2006, committee has also urged government to extend this facility to processed fabrics, garments and made-ups, including home textiles in the upcoming budget.
However, the committee has suggested that facility should not be available for export of processed fabrics to SAARC countries.
The committee has pointed out that despite the fact that knitting and garment sectors were offered 6 percent as R&D, the industry could not survive the onslaught from highly subsidized regional competitors.
It is, therefore, recommended that garment exporters should be offered a further 5 percent of FOB value as Market Access Support Programme (MASP) to revitalize this industry.
About provision of gas to the industry, the committee has recommended that textile industry should be declared a priority sector for application of a separate lower gas tariff in line with rates prevailing in Bangladesh.
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