Decline in production of major industries, momentary

 The decline in production of major industries, momentary

            Industries play an important role in the development of the country, after the agricultural sector, this sector provides the most employment in the country and earns a lot of foreign exchange through exports, but the industrial sector of Pakistan is in constant decline and hundreds of industrial units, which These include large, small and medium industries, are shutting down, increasing unemployment and poverty in the country. Due to the decrease in exports, the value of the rupee is continuously falling due to a decrease in foreign exchange reserves, due to which our competitiveness in the global market is adversely affected due to a record increase in the cost of production, which can be seen from the decrease in production and export of textiles and other products. Can be applied. Due to the decline in the production of large-scale industries, the private sector loans of banks have decreased by a record 74%, which decreased from 1036 billion rupees in the first 9 months of last year to 266 billion rupees in the current financial year. Large-scale industries have declined by 15% compared to last year for the seventh consecutive month and by 10% this year due to the end of subsidized gas and electricity subsidies to textile and export industries, difficulties in opening import LCs for raw materials. 58.5% increase in the value of the dollar in the last year, from Rs 181 on April 12, 2022, to a peak of Rs 288 on April 4, 2023, with import costs and bank interest rates of 23 to 24 percent. The unbearable increase in financial cost is the reason which has broken the back of Pakistan's industrial sector. According to the Bureau of Statistics, the production of 19 sectors of the country's major industries has decreased in January this year, including 14.2 percent in the textile industry, 18 percent in the yarn and cloth industry, 7 percent in the auto sector, 9 percent in steel production, There is a decrease of 8% in chemical products, 24% in pharmaceuticals and 8% in rubber products and the trend of decrease in the production of industries is also evident in this financial year, in which the decrease in the production of large-scale industries is notable. According to the report, in 6 months, the production of the vehicle industry has decreased by 36%, in the textile industry by 21%, in the pharmaceutical industry by 13%, in the steel industry by 8% and in the chemical industry by 4%. But it is decreasing when we desperately need dollars to increase domestic foreign exchange reserves. In these circumstances, inflation in the country (CPI) has reached 31.5%, while unemployment and poverty are increasing due to the closure of industries and political instability is pushing the country towards a serious economic crisis. It has been stalled due to the delay in financial assistance from Saudi Arabia, UAE and China, which has caused severe uncertainty in the country. In 2019-20, the production of vehicles in the major industries of Pakistan was 96455 units, Pakistan had become the fifth largest motorcycle manufacturing country in the world which was producing 1.8 million motorcycles annually in Pakistan in the region of India, Afghanistan and Central Asia. It became the fifth largest country in the world by exporting 4.5 metric tons of cement to the countries.

                 Similarly, the production of fertilizer and energy sector was remarkable but today our large-scale industries (LSM) are fighting for their survival. In these circumstances, Pattern Chief of Pakistan Textile Mills Association Gohar Ijaz has sent an SOS to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and also met Finance Minister Ishaq Dar with a delegation in which it was stated that Faisalabad and other textile centers are textile graveyards. have been created and the textile industry is working at barely 50% production capacity, which is expected to reduce the textile exports of one billion dollars every month. Aptma said that the cotton crop has been badly affected by the last floods and only 5 million bales of cotton have been harvested this year as against 8.8 million bales due to which the textile industry needs at least 3 to 4 million bales of cotton. But due to the ban on trade from India, cotton cannot be imported through the Wagah border, while the country is facing difficulties in importing cotton due to the foreign exchange crisis. The textile industry is also facing financial difficulties due to non-timely payments of sales tax refunds by the FBR and if immediate steps are not taken, more factories are likely to close, which will increase bank defaults. Aptma has also requested industrial banks to defer payments from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023. Readers! This problem is not only for the textile industry but other large-scale industries of Pakistan are also suffering from crisis, their production capacity is continuously decreasing and they are closing down. Toyota, Honda and Suzuki Motors are repeatedly shutting down their production lines in Karachi, which is increasing unemployment in the country at a time of record inflation. The government should take immediate steps to save the industry from closure by forming a task force with the business community on an emergency basis so that large-scale industries can be brought out of the crisis.