The Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA) on Tuesday demanded that the government run the textile ministry separately, without merging it into the commerce ministry. PTEA Chairman Asghar Ali and Vice Chairman Muhammad Asif said textile exporters strongly opposed the proposed merger of the textile ministry into the commerce ministry and termed it a negative move which would hurt textile exports. They said the merger of the textile ministry into the commerce ministry would hurt the textile industry. They said Pakistan had a dynamic, vigorous and export oriented textile industry and textiles being the largest industrial sector generated the highest export earnings of about 60%, providing the bulk of employment and contributing 8.5% to GDP. They further said the ministry of textile was established on demands of textile exporters to formulate strategies to facilitate the textile sector for attaining sustainable growth, achieve higher objectives and anticipate challenges confronting the sector. They said with the establishment of a full-fledged textile ministry, the country’s textile exports gradually increased from $8.29 billion in 2004-05 to $13.78 billion at present.
