KARACHI: The country will miss the current year's textile export target of $12 billion due to power shortage, increase in cost of production, political instability and stiff competition in world market. Textile exporters have shown poor performance during the current fiscal year, despite getting huge subsidies on account of research and development (R&D) support from the government since 2005.

Industry sources said that unannounced power load shedding, besides political battle, had badly hurt the industrial activities in the country, while due to poor law and order situation foreign importers refused to visit Pakistan. These have been chief reasons of decline in textile exports.

They said that killing of Benazir Bhutto and riots following it presented a negative picture of Pakistan and once again country's image on international front has been damaged. Official statistics show that textile exports declined by 2.5 percent during eleven months of current fiscal year against 6 percent growth in corresponding period of last fiscal year.

Keeping in view the pace of current textile exports, experts reckon that the country would fall short of the textile exports target this year despite getting billions of rupees as R&D subsidy. The government has been paying 3 percent R&D support on fabrics, 5 percent on bedwear and knitwear and 6 percent on garments.

From May 2005 to March 2008 the government has paid about s 31 billion to textile exporters to continue R&D support. Textile exports stood at $9.59 billion in eleven months of current fiscal year against the annual target of $12.21 billion. This is about $246 million less than $9.83 billion of same period of last fiscal year. Industry sources believe that this year totl textile exports would not be more then $10.5 billion against the target of $12.21 billion.