A three-day Textile Asia exhibition began in Lahore at the Centre last Saturday. The exhibition has been organised jointly by the Pakistan Readymade Garments and Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PRGMEA) and E-commerce Gateway Pakistan. More than 450 exhibitors are displaying at the trade fair that covers garments, embroidery, machinery, digital printing, chemicals and allied services.
The Textile Asia exhibition, that is the largest event of its kind, provides an effective podium for joint ventures and collaborations among the local textile industry and international entrepreneurs. The organizers are expecting 50,000 people to visit the exhibition including 550 foreign delegates from trade and corporate sectors.
Since the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has opened up a world of opportunities for both Pakistan and China, the focus is on linking Chinese small manufacturing enterprises (SMEs) to Pakistani SMEs. Though Pakistan is the fourth largest cotton producing country in the world, it has failed in converting this into value-added products. It fetches only $1.17 billion per million bales whereas our competitors like Bangladesh gets $6 billion and India gets $1.97 billion for same quantity.
Despite a highly competitive global market, Pakistan's apparel industry has proven its strength by pushing export by 4.83 per cent in 2015-16.
