The Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association has opposed the government decision of long Eid holidays, which would hurt the business, causing a loss of billions of rupees in exports.
Criticizing the government decision of more than a week holidays on Eidul Fitr, PHMA zonal chairman Fiasal Mahboob Sheikh said that the country would remain disconnected with the world for almost a week, and it will cost the economy of billions.
He said that long closure of banks would lead to delays in the opening of LCs and making payments. The impact of banking sector shutdown would also create problems for the common man. The ATM system is not efficient and it may aggravate the liquidity problem, he said.
He also expressed concern over increase in the wage ceiling from Rs17,500 to Rs19,500. He said that keeping in the view the current economic situation of the country, it should be reviewed and brought back to the same denominator.
PHMA chief coordinator Adil Butt said that due to closure of transport there will be problem to transfer the finished goods from one to other places. He said that undoubtedly the government is acting wisely to contain the Covid-19 pandemic and the industry appreciates the forceful steps in this regard. However, the government must reconsider the long Eid holiday in consultation with the industry.
Rejecting the government’s decision, he said shutting down the country for 10 days was unacceptable. He said the business community is already working on limited hours as per the Ramazan schedule and facing difficulties in meeting expectations of buyers for timely delivery and management of supply chains. The expected lockdown in the month of May has already disturbed future planning for the export-oriented industry, he said.
He stated that shutting down the country for nine consecutive days was unacceptable as it would create a lot of problems for the economy and the business community, particularly the exporters. The government must review this decision and announce Eid holidays from May 12-15 which would certainly give some breathing space to the exporters by enabling them to dispatch shipments on time.
