All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) has rejected 20 day suspension of gas supply to industry by the SNGPL under its gas load management plan and said that it would render one million workers jobless and lead to an export loss of $1.3 billion. APTMA spokesman said that the SNGPL has announced the load management schedule without taking the textile industry into confidence.
APTMA fears that all textile mills will be closed during the gas load management programme for Annual Turn Around (ATA) of Qadirpur Gas Field that would adversely affect ten million workers. It would also affect the textile industry capacity to procure cotton, he added. He said the textile industry was already facing huge inventory losses due to crash of cotton price in the international market. This situation is already translating into massive Non Performing Loans (NPLs) worth Rs600 billion, said the APTMA spokesman.
According to him, the textile industry is already running 30 per cent below capacity due to energy constraints, ultimately affecting industry’s potential to grow fast and earn foreign exchange for the national exchequer. He said that SNGPL was already observing two day load shedding of gas for textile industry. The SNGPL should continue with this schedule, as ensured by the highest office of the country in the presence of former MD SNGPL Abdul Rasheed Lone. He said the textile industry cannot afford closure of units for a single day. He said the textile industry operates 24/7 worldwide and it is not closed on events like Eid.
