By Muhammad Asad Tahir Bhawana ISLAMABAD, May 23 (INP-WealthPK): The export of the towel industry of Pakistan has shown an increase in the current fiscal year despite facing several challenges. Kashif Mehtab Chawla, Chairman of Towel Manufacturers Association of Pakistan, told WealthPK that the towel industry was part of the textile sector. “It is one of Pakistan’s top contributors to textile exports,” he said. However, he feared that the current price hike and shortage of gas could cause threats to the industry. He said that the current increase in the price of gas and its shortage could affect the performance of the industry. “We are unable to complete orders timely. The orders are shifting to other countries, directly affecting our reputation in the international market,” he added. Mr Chawla said that government should make industrial policies more export-oriented besides addressing the issues of gas shortage and increase in its price. “Our export share in global trade will decline if we fail to maintain the same rate of progress as our competitors,” he added. The towel sector in Pakistan is a consistent earner in terms of exports. The contribution of this sector to overall textile exports was 6 percent in the fiscal year of 2021. However, the sector contributed 4 percent to the overall exports of the country. Pakistan has been ranked as the second largest exporter of towels in the world. The country exported towels worth $1.3 billion in 2018. China is a dominant player in this sector. With exports of $4.7 billion, China dominated the global market for towels in 2018. During the first 10 months of the current fiscal year, the exports of towels increased by 19.46 percent to reach $927.859 million compared to the same period of the previous when it was $776.710 million. According to a report of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics on month-on-month data, the export of the towel has also risen by 27.98 percent to reach $108.270 million in April 2022 compared to the previous month when it was $102.901 million. A report of the Towel Manufacturers Association of Pakistan (TMA) says that the export of towels in terms of volume increased by 5.16 percent in the current fiscal. The United States is a major importer of Pakistani towels. In 2021, Pakistan exported around 46 percent of its towels to the US. The European countries including UK, the Netherland, Germany, Italy and Spain also import Pakistani towels. The sector is regulated by TMA and All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA). Around 197 towel manufacturers are registered with TMA. Around 10,000 towel looms, including shuttle and shuttle-less, operate in the country. The sector consists of organised and unorganised segments. The organised section of the industry is mostly based in Faisalabad. Most of the exports are made through the organised sector of the industry. However, experts fear that decrease in the local cotton yield may lead to an increase in the production cost of towels as manufacturers will be compelled to import cotton from abroad. The current increase in energy prices can also affect the towel sector. Many small units will be unable to operate if tariffs of energy continue to increase. Experts told WealthPK that regional players like Bangladesh and Vietnam could also challenge the towel manufacturers of Pakistan in the international market. “In case of any negligence in fulfilling international orders, Pakistan can lose a large number of customers, who can shift to other suppliers,” they added.