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With decline in investment in balancing and modernisation of textile mills, the local industry has been put at a disadvantage compared to other countries of the region including Bangladesh which are updating their equipment to improve efficiency.
According to the statistics of the International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF), Asia added 12.05 million textile spindles in 2007 accounting for 94 per cent of total spindles installed in the world. China, with addition of 6.06 million spindles, accounted for 47 per cent of total investment. India added 3.74 million spindles, which was 29 per cent of total spindles added globally in 2007. Pakistan could not add even a single textile spindle in that year while Bangladesh added 0.606 million spindles.
Textile experts point out that no investment in the spinning sector means negative growth as each year some machines becomes redundant. Failure to upgrade technology, they say, indicates Pakistan would lose the edge its spinning industry had earlier enjoyed over its competitors.
In the weaving sector, Asia added 0.606 million shuttle-less looms in 2007 which accounted for 89 per cent of 68,200 looms installed in the world that year. China again emerged as the main investor as it installed 46,200 shuttle-less looms, contributing 68 per cent of investment in the sector. India and Bangladesh installed 4,000 and 4,200 looms accounting for investment of 6 per cent each while Pakistan installed only 1,100 loom, only 2 per cent of investment.
Textile experts point out the weaving industry produces basic raw materials for the value added sectors. They say low investment in this sector as compared with the competing economies is likely to place Pakistan at an disadvantage in the textile trade.
ITMF figures for the year 2008 have not been released. They say the situation in 2008 is expected to be worse than 2007 because of even lower investments in textiles. It is worth noting that of the 26,600 Circular Knitting Machines commission globally in 2007 all the major textile players in the region made low investments although Asia purchased 18,000 or 68 per cent of these machines.
China installed 1,100 circular machines and Bangladesh 900 machines. Pakistan and India installed no new knitting circular machine in 2007.
Industry experts warn that this is a sign that the value added clothing sector is growing more rapidly. This is the reason for high textile exports from Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.
An interesting point to note is the impact of textile sector investment in Pakistan on growth of large-scale manufacturing sector. It was found that the growth of large-scale manufacturing sector in Pakistan is directly related to the investments made in the textile sector and not the level of foreign direct investment that in recent years has mostly come from sales of operational projects.
A study by The News revealed that large-scale manufacturing (LSM) grew at almost 19 per cent in 2004-05 when the investment in the textile sector according to Federal Bureau of Statistics was 928 million dollars. It declined to 11 per cent next year when the investment in textiles dipped to 817 million dollars and to below 10 per cent when the investment in textiles dipped to $502 million.
In the year 2007-08 the investment in textiles declined to $438 billion and the LSM growth was six per cent. In the current financial year only $279 million investment has been made in textiles and the LSM growth is negative five per cent
According to the statistics of the International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF), Asia added 12.05 million textile spindles in 2007 accounting for 94 per cent of total spindles installed in the world. China, with addition of 6.06 million spindles, accounted for 47 per cent of total investment. India added 3.74 million spindles, which was 29 per cent of total spindles added globally in 2007. Pakistan could not add even a single textile spindle in that year while Bangladesh added 0.606 million spindles.
Textile experts point out that no investment in the spinning sector means negative growth as each year some machines becomes redundant. Failure to upgrade technology, they say, indicates Pakistan would lose the edge its spinning industry had earlier enjoyed over its competitors.
In the weaving sector, Asia added 0.606 million shuttle-less looms in 2007 which accounted for 89 per cent of 68,200 looms installed in the world that year. China again emerged as the main investor as it installed 46,200 shuttle-less looms, contributing 68 per cent of investment in the sector. India and Bangladesh installed 4,000 and 4,200 looms accounting for investment of 6 per cent each while Pakistan installed only 1,100 loom, only 2 per cent of investment.
Textile experts point out the weaving industry produces basic raw materials for the value added sectors. They say low investment in this sector as compared with the competing economies is likely to place Pakistan at an disadvantage in the textile trade.
ITMF figures for the year 2008 have not been released. They say the situation in 2008 is expected to be worse than 2007 because of even lower investments in textiles. It is worth noting that of the 26,600 Circular Knitting Machines commission globally in 2007 all the major textile players in the region made low investments although Asia purchased 18,000 or 68 per cent of these machines.
China installed 1,100 circular machines and Bangladesh 900 machines. Pakistan and India installed no new knitting circular machine in 2007.
Industry experts warn that this is a sign that the value added clothing sector is growing more rapidly. This is the reason for high textile exports from Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.
An interesting point to note is the impact of textile sector investment in Pakistan on growth of large-scale manufacturing sector. It was found that the growth of large-scale manufacturing sector in Pakistan is directly related to the investments made in the textile sector and not the level of foreign direct investment that in recent years has mostly come from sales of operational projects.
A study by The News revealed that large-scale manufacturing (LSM) grew at almost 19 per cent in 2004-05 when the investment in the textile sector according to Federal Bureau of Statistics was 928 million dollars. It declined to 11 per cent next year when the investment in textiles dipped to 817 million dollars and to below 10 per cent when the investment in textiles dipped to $502 million.
In the year 2007-08 the investment in textiles declined to $438 billion and the LSM growth was six per cent. In the current financial year only $279 million investment has been made in textiles and the LSM growth is negative five per cent
