LAHORE: Industries in different textile sectors that have achieved economies of scale through consolidation are the ones that are out of trouble, while smaller and fragmented units in all sectors are under pressure, industry executives said on Monday.
Larger industries in spinning, weaving and clothing sectors have maintained robust growth during past three years although overall growth in the industry has declined, textile industrialists said talking to The News.
“Clothing units with less than hundred stitching machines stand no chance to survive in current scenario,” said Shahkam textile’s Managing Director Adil Butt. Shahkam with knitwear exports of over $250 million is a composite unit but does not have any spinning facility.
He said that despite high yarn prices the company managed to post growth due to economies of scale. The largest clothing exporter Masood Textiles with clothing exports of over $350 million was basically a spinning unit that systematically went for value addition first to weaving and knitting and then into garments.
The second largest clothing exporter with exports of over $300 million is Komfort Knitwear that basically started as a clothing exporter and developed into a composite unit by adding dyeing, finishing and finally spinning in its set-up.
According to Textile Commissioner’s statistics there are 18,000 knitting machines and 450,000 stitching machines in the country. Industry sources said that almost one third of the total clothing export of around $3.2 billion is in the hands of three composite units. Analysis of SBP data on industrial growth suggests that the best performing sector in the textiles is still the spinning sector.
The APTMA chairman Gohar Ejaz said that more than 55 per cent of the $5 billion investment in textiles during past seven years was made in spinning that has made the difference. According to the record of the Textile Commissioner of Pakistan in 2003-04 each mill of spinning industry had 14,000 spindles on average that has now increased to 31,000 spindles per mill for APTMA members and 25,000 spindles per mill for all spinning industry.
Mills with 40,000 spindles survived the three years of depression in spinning industry while many smaller units went sick, textile industrialists informed. Presently Pakistan has 12 million installed spindles 50 per cent of which are less than seven years old mostly installed by larger units, they said.
In weaving the 300,000 auto/power looms mostly installed in Faisalabad are in trouble. While 50 members APTMA having 80 per cent of the shuttle less looms are in better shape, Gohar said.
A leading weaver Seth Akber Shiekh said that mills that have commissioned 6,000 air jet looms are in excellent shape. Air jet looms weave at speed of 650-1000 RPM per hour against weaving speed of 150-250 RPM of power looms and 400 RPM of shuttle less looms, he said.
Higher productivity of air jet and shuttle less looms has given them advantage over the power looms. He said weaving industries having spinning set up of their own faced the yarn crisis better than those that had to purchase yarn for making fabric.
