Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh revealed on Wednesday that thousands of tons of cargo were dumped at Karachi Port, saying the government was planning to either auction or send back polluted cargo to its originated countries as they were producing waste and pollution.
Complaints were received that developed countries dumped polluted cargo at Karachi Port having no claimant, which was creating waste and pollution, said the minister, while speaking at the ‘National Policy Dialogue on Circularity and Used Textile Trade in Pakistan’ organized by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI).
The minister said textile was one of the major businesses in Pakistan, with used textile goods providing affordable stuff as 40 percent population – 100 million people – was living below the poverty line.
He said more than 430,000 metric tonnes of used clothing arrived in Pakistan in fiscal year 2023-24 with the support of port and shipping infrastructure.
He emphasized the vital role of Pakistan’s maritime infrastructure in facilitating the import of second-hand textiles, adding that he recognized that the efficient handling of these imports was essential for supporting local economies, job creation, and textile recycling efforts.
The federal minister further said his ministry was focusing on improving port efficiency and container management to streamline the processing of these goods, ensuring that shipments were processed in a timely and cost-effective manner.
The minister also outlined its ongoing efforts to develop waste sorting hubs for textile recycling, a key step in managing textile waste and reducing the environmental impact of the global textile trade.
DG Textile Mudassir Raza said used circularity and textile produced around two million jobs in Pakistan. He also talked about the government’s intervention by the export development fund which was still continuing.
Other speakers said the country was among the top importers of second-hand textiles mostly exported by the European Union, and needed green measures to ensure sustainability and circularity as refurbishment of such goods burdened local water and energy resources.
Many SMEs are associated with the textile sector contributing greatly to the country’s economy, whereas it is estimated that the textile industry was valued at $1.6 trillion in 2023 and will reach up to $3.3 trillion by 2030, they added.
Head Economic and Trade Policy Unit, UNEP, Asad Naqvi said second-hand textiles were important for poor masses and the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and value chains that were around it.
Since second-hand textiles are being imported, it is contributing significantly towards the circularity with an added expense to it in the form of energy and the water that is being used to refurbish such textiles, he added.
Jeroen Willems, Head of Cooperation, EU Delegation to Pakistan, said used textiles were effectively being exported to Pakistan, Ghana, and Tunisia by Europe and the demand for second-hand textiles would double globally.
“Pakistan is among the top importers of such second-hand textiles. In the EU, there is a notion of ‘fast fashion’ in which on average people discard a shirt after using it seven times. Resulting in a huge waste of many resources such as energy, water, and chemicals,” he added.
Willems said the EU was developing rules regarding effective sorting of clothes that were to be reused or recycled.
Yulia Bazhenova of GIZ Germany, Mustafa Sattar, Retex Global, and KPEX Karachi also addressed the event.
Zainab Naeem of SDPI gave a presentation that outlined the current scale of secondhand clothing imports in Pakistan, which saw a 17 percent increase in 2023-24, totaling 433,651 metric tonnes and generating over $40 million in revenue.
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Dumped cargo at port must be auctioned to create space/ reduce pollution and enhance efficiency at port before it is stolen and benefit thieves.
Port b baich dalo please 😡
Why not make your own economical and organic clothes from natural materials? Let the EU deal with its own polluted textile waste. It is a sad situation for Pakistan, which already faces a plethora of problems, to have to deal with this as well. 😔