xenia
FULL MEMBER
- Joined
- Jan 24, 2010
- Messages
- 785
- Reaction score
- 0
Floods devastate infrastructure Greater market access can revive economy
By Nasir Jamal
LAHORE, Aug 10: Businessmen expect the government to demand greater access for their exports in the American and European markets as the worst floods in decades continued on Tuesday to displace more people and devastate economic and social infrastructure in different parts of the country.
A United Nations report, released on Monday, has given hopes to the businessmen that the American and European governments would consider giving preferential treatment to exports from Pakistan to help it cope with the economic pressures caused by the widespread destruction caused by flash floods during the past couple of weeks.
The UN report put the number of people suffering from the massive floods at 13.8 million more than the combined total of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, and the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
A UN official recently said Pakistan would require millions of dollars for emergency relief and rescue operations and billions for reconstruction of the flood-hit areas and rehabilitation of the affected populations.
For the last many years Pakistan has been trying hard for securing increased market access for its products particularly textiles to the US and European markets, but without any success.
All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma-Punjab) Chairman Gohar Ejaz said the floodwaters had completely devastated the economic and social infrastructure across the country and displaced millions of people.
The only way for sustainable rehabilitation of the affected people is through creation of new jobs, which will not be possible unless the world allowed greater access to Pakistans exports, he emphasised.
Sri Lankan textile exports were given preferential treatment in the wake of destruction from tsunami to help it revive its economy. Though Europe has now decided not to extend the GSP plus treatment to the Sri Lankan gar ment exports after August 15, its government feels more confident now to compete in the world on its own. Gohar feared that the economic impact of the catastrophic floods could be far more greater than initial estimates as the floodwaters had washed away with them miles of roads and bridges, thousands of acres of standing crops, hundreds of schools and hospitals, and tens of thousands of jobs.
The world may come to the help of the affected people and provide them the necessary relief to cope with the immediate impact of the calamity. But they will require jobs and sustainable livelihoods to once again stand on their feet, he said.The textile industry, the largest foreign exchange earner and employer of industrial workforce, has also been hit hard by the floods in south Punjab. The industry sources forecast substantial closures in view of the possible cotton shortages in the aftermath of the floods. Many spinners have already cut their yarn production because of unavailability of cotton in the market.
Businessmen have urged the government to use its trade missions abroad to secure immediate market access from the United States and the European Union, the two major markets for Pakistani exports.
The spinners also want the government to negotiate special arrangements with the United States for import of cotton on deferred payment basis through the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) in order to keep the countrys industrial wheel running. The United States is reported to have surplus cotton stocks and, Gohar said, the Pakistan government should persuade Washington to supply cotton to our textile industry under special loan programme to mitigate the dire economic impact of floods.
He contended that industrial growth would enable Pakistan to overcome the consequences of the disastrous floods more rapidly than expected.
Floods devastate infrastructure Greater market access can revive economy
By Nasir Jamal
LAHORE, Aug 10: Businessmen expect the government to demand greater access for their exports in the American and European markets as the worst floods in decades continued on Tuesday to displace more people and devastate economic and social infrastructure in different parts of the country.
A United Nations report, released on Monday, has given hopes to the businessmen that the American and European governments would consider giving preferential treatment to exports from Pakistan to help it cope with the economic pressures caused by the widespread destruction caused by flash floods during the past couple of weeks.
The UN report put the number of people suffering from the massive floods at 13.8 million more than the combined total of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, and the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
A UN official recently said Pakistan would require millions of dollars for emergency relief and rescue operations and billions for reconstruction of the flood-hit areas and rehabilitation of the affected populations.
For the last many years Pakistan has been trying hard for securing increased market access for its products particularly textiles to the US and European markets, but without any success.
All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma-Punjab) Chairman Gohar Ejaz said the floodwaters had completely devastated the economic and social infrastructure across the country and displaced millions of people.
The only way for sustainable rehabilitation of the affected people is through creation of new jobs, which will not be possible unless the world allowed greater access to Pakistans exports, he emphasised.
Sri Lankan textile exports were given preferential treatment in the wake of destruction from tsunami to help it revive its economy. Though Europe has now decided not to extend the GSP plus treatment to the Sri Lankan gar ment exports after August 15, its government feels more confident now to compete in the world on its own. Gohar feared that the economic impact of the catastrophic floods could be far more greater than initial estimates as the floodwaters had washed away with them miles of roads and bridges, thousands of acres of standing crops, hundreds of schools and hospitals, and tens of thousands of jobs.
The world may come to the help of the affected people and provide them the necessary relief to cope with the immediate impact of the calamity. But they will require jobs and sustainable livelihoods to once again stand on their feet, he said.The textile industry, the largest foreign exchange earner and employer of industrial workforce, has also been hit hard by the floods in south Punjab. The industry sources forecast substantial closures in view of the possible cotton shortages in the aftermath of the floods. Many spinners have already cut their yarn production because of unavailability of cotton in the market.
Businessmen have urged the government to use its trade missions abroad to secure immediate market access from the United States and the European Union, the two major markets for Pakistani exports.
The spinners also want the government to negotiate special arrangements with the United States for import of cotton on deferred payment basis through the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) in order to keep the countrys industrial wheel running. The United States is reported to have surplus cotton stocks and, Gohar said, the Pakistan government should persuade Washington to supply cotton to our textile industry under special loan programme to mitigate the dire economic impact of floods.
He contended that industrial growth would enable Pakistan to overcome the consequences of the disastrous floods more rapidly than expected.
Floods devastate infrastructure Greater market access can revive economy
