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| KARACHI: Govt urged to announce five-year leather policy |
KARACHI: Pakistan Tanners Association (PTA) urged the government to announce five year National Leather Policy in line with the Textile Policy.
Talking to Daily Times Saturday, chairman PTA Agha Saiddain pressed the government to announce five-year leather policy to control the decline in exports.
He said decline of 29.44 percent in export of leather is alarming and need to be addressed with relief package in line with Textile Sector.
He urged the Federal Minister of Commerce to take up the matter with the Ministry of Industries and implement the leather vision created by SWOG with the help of J.E Austin.
He repeated his demand to allow leather industry of Pakistan similar incentives as allowed under 10th and 11th leather Plan of India with an outlay of Rs 13120 million.
He urged the government to announce sites for leather and footwear parks at various places in the country in consultation with leather industry, footwear design and development centre may be set up in the country and steps for rehabilitation of NILT may be taken immediately.
He said the leather sector has a potential to push its exports to $ 5.00 billion from present $943.788 million in next five years if government pays due attention to this important sector which is number two in export industry after textile, with a capability to generate employment in the country.
He said we have been time and again requested the government to allow refinance at lower rate of 5 percent tanning industry from load shedding, duty free import of tanning and footwear machinery with spares, matching grant for setting up treatment plants in the individual tanneries.
Leather sector being labour intensive, provides jobs to more than 500,00 families in the country as such the government should bear the burden of social security and EOBI dues with regard to the ladies workers in garment and footwear sector.
He advised the MOC to arrange top level meeting with the leading sector as was announced by the Federal Minister of Commerce in his speech of Strategic Trade Policy framework 2009-12.
PTA requested MOC to include categories of leather in the list of FTA with China but it ceased to mention finished leather although footwear factories in China have a big demand for finished leather. |
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