The textile industry in Pakistan's Punjab province is passing through difficult times. It's battered by gas shortages, rising exchange rate and a high cost of electricity. A good number of factories are on the verge of closure.

Around 70 per cent of Pakistan's textile industry is located in Punjab. The main problem is shortage of gas. Punjab’s textile industry is being deprived of gas supplies and is getting just one quarter of its allocated gas supply. Other sectors of the economy that fall below on the priority list of gas companies are getting more gas than what is being supplied to the textile industry.

For many units, shortage of gas means that more than two-thirds of their installed capacity is lying idle. The industry is being supplied gas only six hours a day, and facing power cuts of eight hours a day, causing production disruptions.

On top of energy shortages, textile exporters contend that the appreciating exchange rate and rising cost of production are wiping out their liquidity. Partial gas supplies and power cuts mean they are losing money owing to the rupee revaluation against exports and committed future orders.