APTMA vows to work with EU to ensure sustainability.

LAHORE -- All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) Punjab Chairman Adil Bashir on Tuesday vowed to work with European Union (EU) on all the initiatives to ensure sustainability and growth of textile industry in Pakistan.

He was talking to European Union (EU)s Ambassador Designate to Pakistan Androulla Kaminara, who visited APTMA Punjab office here. Chairman APTMA also gave a detailed presentation about the Association and highlighted that its members were corporate entities compliant to all social standards while producing goods predominantly meant for exports.

Adil Bashir said the APTMA had taken an active part in securing of EU GSP Plus status for Pakistan in 2014 to widen the market access available to Pakistan and since then, the exports of Pakistan to EU had increased by 62 per cent. In the early years of the facility, Pakistan's exports to the EU witnessed significant growth but it had become stagnant at 5514 million Euros for the last three years.

He said the prime reason was relocation of buying houses of major retailers and brands to other competing countries besides the high cost of manufacturing in Pakistan.

However, he stressed, the present government had taken special measures to encourage industrialization and exports, and the business scenario was changing fast in the country. APTMA along with the federal government was formulating a long-term textile policy to set direction for sustainability and growth of Pakistan's textile sector.

He said the prospective investors were keenly looking forward to undertake BMR (Balancing, Modernization and Replacement), expansions, and greenfield investment projects in all sub sectors of the textile value chain subject to the...