All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) has requested a loan of $2 billion from the United States of America for cotton import.
In a letter written by APTMA Patron-in-Chief Gohar Ejaz to the US ambassador of Pakistan, Donald Bloom, it has been said that a loan of 2 billion dollars should be provided to Pakistan for cotton import.
He also urged the US government to announce concessional loans for Pakistan’s textile industry. He suggested that the US government should develop a plan to facilitate access to credit for importing cotton.
Furthermore, the letters of credit (LC) for the textile industry are not being opened for imports, which is a major barrier to the industry’s development.
The production of cotton in Pakistan has reached the lowest level in history. 5 million bales were lost throughout the year due to rains and floods and 2 billion dollars were lost to the cotton crop alone due to the destruction. More than 1,739 people died in Pakistan due to floods from June to October 2022.
The letter also wrote that due to the recent floods, the country suffered an economic loss of 15.2 billion dollars. The textile sector is now facing severe difficulties due to the extremely low production of local cotton, and 10 million cotton bales should be imported to Pakistan for this season.
Millions of jobs will be saved by the US loan and it will also improve Pakistan’s balance of payments.
God Bless The United States