The lawn business has been posting a staggering 10 per cent growth every year despite rising food inflation, utility bills charges and energy product prices. Iqbal Ebrahim, Chief Executive Officer, Orient Textile Mills, says the growth in lawn business has doubled in the last 10 years.

Without giving any estimated or official figures of the country’s lawn production every year, he recalls that Pakistani women have been wearing lawn for the last five decades but with the entry of designers into the arena, lawn has now become a fashion statement.

The bulk of lawn production comes from Faisalabad. Women in Punjab consume the lion’s share out of the country’s total lawn production as their scorching summer demands the thinnest, lightest fabric.

Though the rush for high priced designer lawn gives the impression that the more expensive the lawn, the more it is in demand, the truth is that high priced lawn is just the tip of the iceberg of this booming industry. According to Iqbal Ebrahim “the market share of Rs1,500-2,000 lawn suit is 80 per cent while Rs5,000 suits enjoy a mere five per cent share.

“People have now realised the difference between the quality and price of lawn and they know where to compromise,” he says.

To provide good quality lawn, the industry imports approximately one billion bales of Egyptian and American cotton every year for making fine fabric. Lawn is actually 100 per cent pure cotton.

Pakistani lawn is also finding its way into India through informal channels while lawn is being exported officially to Dubai, Bangladesh, the UK, etc.

Like every year, many lawn producers have increased the prices this year as well. Iqbal says that cotton prices have fallen in the last one year but increase in gas and power rates have pushed up the cost of production. Gas load shedding is playing havoc with the local textile industry especially in Faisalabad.

As many of our textile mills bleed due to the rising cost of production and gas and power load shedding, the booming lawn business is a boon that helps them get back on their feet. — ASK