ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Textile Council (PTC) has urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to declare an ‘Export Emergency’ and resolve the textile sector’s longstanding issues, warning that continued erosion of export competitiveness—combined with rising costs, taxation distortions, and energy pricing disparities—has pushed exporters to the brink of collapse. In a letter to the Prime Minister, PTC Chairman Fawad Anwar highlighted the rapidly deteriorating external trade position, cautioning that it poses a serious threat to economic stability, industrial continuity, and employment. He noted that Pakistan’s exports declined by over 14 percent year-on-year in November 2025, marking the fourth consecutive month of contraction. During July–November FY26, exports fell to USD12.8 billion compared to USD13.7 billion in the same period last year, while imports surged to over USD28 billion. Consequently, the trade deficit widened sharply to nearly USD15.5 billion in just five months, with November alone recording a deficit of USD2.86 billion—33 percent higher than last year. Textile exports show dismal performance in 5MFY2025-26 Against this backdrop, the PTC chairman urged the Prime Minister to declare an Export Emergency supported by immediate and decisive measures, including: (i) restoration of the 1 percent full-and-final tax regime on all exports with withdrawal of advance tax; (ii) waiver of even the 1 percent tax for exporters achieving over 10 percent year-on-year export growth; (iii) abolition of super tax on the five major export sectors; (iv) immediate withdrawal of the gas levy for export sectors and fixation of gas prices at Rs2,600 per MMBtu and electricity at Rs24 per unit for all export sectors, regardless of captive or grid connections; (v) rationalisation of gas pricing for the fertiliser sector, including price caps to prevent pass-through, as the sector is currently earning abnormal profits and distorting the gas market; and (vi) immediate restoration of items excluded from the Export Facilitation Scheme (EFS) for duty-free import. He further requested the Prime Minister to address cotton leakages by either enforcing a strict crackdown or exempting cotton from GST to bring nearly two million bales back into the documented economy. He also called for the abolition of SESSI and EOBI for exporters, citing high compliance costs despite surplus funds and governance concerns. Additionally, the PTC chairman urged the Prime Minister to mandate banks, through the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), to allocate at least 50 percent of lending to the private sector. “Pakistan cannot grow its way out of this crisis without exports leading the recovery. Delay will only deepen the contraction, force shutdowns, and erode hard-won international market share. An export emergency, backed by these measures, can stabilise exports quickly and support the government’s broader objective of sustainable growth and exit from the IMF programme,” he concluded. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025