Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA) have rejected the sudden suspension of gas supply to industries on account of annual maintenance of Qadirpur gas field and termed Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL)’s move unilateral, arrogant and expressed fear that present curtailment of gas would lead to huge production loss to the textile industry.
Resenting on gas supply cut, chairman Sohail Pasha and vice chairman Rizwan Riaz, in a statement on Wednesday said that textile export consignments worth millions of dollars from upcountry destined for Christmas sales have been hampered resultant upon closure of value addition chain industries due to Gas shedding and Eid festival. Industry will suffer huge productivity and supply loss as the manufacturing process will remain halted for almost 13 days on account of Eid festival followed by gas suspension.
Gas supply was suddenly suspended without taking the industrialists into confidence, disrupting the industrial process, they said, adding that processing sector operates round the clock as textile processing is a continuous process and shutting down the operation causes heavy damages.
Gas supply suspension besides affecting exports, is also causing job losses to the textile workers, they argued. To fulfil the agenda of economic revival, it is imperative to let the textile industry perform to earn foreign exchange, they said. They thanked the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on taking notice of the gas suspension to industries and we request him to order the gas authorities to ensure earliest possible gas restoration to industries.
