Pakistan's textile sales threatened by terrorism
Sunday, 15 November 2009
KARACHI, Nov 14 (Bloomberg): Pakistan's overseas sales of textiles are threatened by growing terror attacks, power outages and poor market access, said Umer Mansha, chief executive officer of Nishat Mills Ltd., the nation's biggest exporter.
"Textile buyers like to come, see and feel the product," Mansha said in an interview at his Lahore office Thursday. "The situation is such that buyers are simply not willing to come here. It's very hard for us to get new clients."
The textile industry, which accounts for two-thirds of Pakistan's exports, has struggled to revive growth amid a global slowdown in demand, power shortages and rising interest rates. Nishat, which produces 400,000 garments a month for Levi Strauss & Co., Gap Inc. and other customers in the US, Europe and China, started selling to Russia for the first time this year.
"They have to look for new markets to remain competitive," said Bilal Qamar, analyst at JS Capital Ltd. in Karachi. "Africa and China can be markets for them since their quality is good, they just have to market properly."
Nishat's shares rose 0.7 per cent to 59.08 rupees as of 11 a.m. on the Karachi Stock Exchange Friday. The stock has more than doubled this year, compared with the benchmark KSE Index's 45 per cent gain.
"Textile buyers like to come, see and feel the product," Mansha said in an interview at his Lahore office Thursday. "The situation is such that buyers are simply not willing to come here. It's very hard for us to get new clients."
The textile industry, which accounts for two-thirds of Pakistan's exports, has struggled to revive growth amid a global slowdown in demand, power shortages and rising interest rates. Nishat, which produces 400,000 garments a month for Levi Strauss & Co., Gap Inc. and other customers in the US, Europe and China, started selling to Russia for the first time this year.
"They have to look for new markets to remain competitive," said Bilal Qamar, analyst at JS Capital Ltd. in Karachi. "Africa and China can be markets for them since their quality is good, they just have to market properly."
Nishat's shares rose 0.7 per cent to 59.08 rupees as of 11 a.m. on the Karachi Stock Exchange Friday. The stock has more than doubled this year, compared with the benchmark KSE Index's 45 per cent gain.