Textile Sector To Lose US$3 Billion Export Orders

The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association, while appreciating government proposal of restricting CNG fuel only to public transport, has said that textile industry would lose $3b exports if gas curtailment continued for another three months, as gas suspension to industry continued for five days a week.

The leader of textile sector and former chairman of the Aptma Gohar Ejaz hailed the PM Adviser on Petroleum and Natural Resources Dr Asim Hussain for supporting longstanding stance of textile industry in public interest to prevent use of CNG in vehicles over 1,000cc and increasing taxes on CNG with a view to bring its price to a level 20 per cent lower than petrol.

"Aptma endorses Dr Asim’s measures for fair support of local industry as part of the plan to phase out CNG industry, which is eating up 425 million cubic feet gas per day,” the Aptma group leader observed.

Stressing the need for political prudence as well as a will to take right decisions in the larger interest of national economy, he said government was looking for IMF assistance to meet balance of payment commitments while losing $3 billion foreign exchange by curtailing gas to textile industry.

The APTMA leader said that gas shortage was not to that extent as being portrayed but a sheer mismanagement on the part of Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL).

Citing the example of bad policies of our unwise economic managers of the government he said: “The total billing of 400mmcfd gas by SNGPL and SSGC is Rs60 billion per year which is 60 per cent of petrol meaning Rs100 billion of value of petrol per year which at Rs96 per dollar is approximately $1 billion per year.

Because of this usage of 400mmcfd gas in CNG, 3,000MW electricity, which can be produced from this gas, is being produced through furnace and diesel, costing $3 billion of import of this oil to Pakistan, along with additional burden of Rs4 per unit of higher electricity cost to the consumers.

He said that the solution to the issue of gas lies in prioritising industry and power sector and only giving direct targeted support to low income group by subsiding cheap fuel to only public transport. This should also be regulated so that the advantage should be passed to common man, besides fair of transport should also be fixed according to CNG rates, he added.

APTMAN Punjab chairman Shehzad Ali Khan said that Pakistan has world’s largest fleet of cars running on CNG and if the court wanted to provide relief to the poor, it should also order the government to allow CNG use only in public transport and not in private cars of the affluent.

He said that government must realise that it cannot afford to waste gas by providing it almost free of cost to the upper middle class and affluent.

He strongly protested against five days a week gas curtailment to textile industry by the SNGPL, as the industry would not be able to perform when it is already passing through six hours a day electricity loadshedding. He said the industry was unable to understand the logic behind gas curtailment for five days a week when CNG pumps were on countrywide strike against price reduction.

He said that long queues outside CNG stations show that consumption of CNG has increased out of proportions and it is in the interest of the country to do away with CNG as it was wastage of resources.

"While we do not have gas in the country, luxury car owners continue to enjoy cheap fuel,” he added. He said that the CNG sector was still very profitable and long queues were not because some stations are closed, but it was because of the fact that the number of vehicles had increased.