Gohar Ejaz, Patron-in-Chief, All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) announced plans to add 100 new textile plants this year by investing $5 billion in the industry. As per a Daily Times, Ejaz says the new plants will help Pakistan boost textile exports and create 500,000 new jobs. Addressing the annual general meeting of the association at APTMA House, Ejaz said, the association hopes to achieve the current year’s textile export target of $21 billion.

Pakistan’s towel exports grew by 32 percent in FY21-22, garment exports grew by 19 percent, knitwear exports by 37 percent and bedwear exports by 29 per cent. Ejaz assured cotton farmers would get Rs 600 billion instead of Rs 200 billion paid to them last year. He said that cotton yarn is sufficiently available in the country for consumption in the value-added sector for export purposes as is evident from 25 per cent decline in cotton yarn export in quantitative terms from 0.522 million tonne in 2018 to 0.390 million tonne during 2021 and 26 percent in value terms.

Domestic production of cotton yarn was about 3.5 million tonne, of which 90 percent was used for value-added sector while only 10 percent was being exported, added Ejaz