Value-added textile exporters have demanded the government to abolish customs duty on the import of cotton yarn in order to support the industry and ensure timely completion of export orders.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Pakistan Apparel Forum Chairman and former Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers & Exporters Association (PHMA) central chairman Muhammad Jawed Bilwani said the gravity of situation demands the government to immediately abolish customs duty on import of cotton yarn either by passing through a presidential ordinance or by an immediate act of the parliament in the interest of export industry of the country.
He said that value-added textile exporters are highly perturbed over the unavailability of cotton yarn – which is basic raw material in the local market – at a time when huge export orders are available with the value-added sector.
He said the available cotton yarn is substandard owing to which exporters are unable to meet export commitment. To ensure availability of cotton yarn, the PHMA had earlier demanded the government to allow duty-free import of cotton yarn to facilitate value-added textile export sector; however, the government considered removing the regulatory duty only.
“Sense of severe unrest and uncertainty prevails as exporters feel it is ‘discriminatory’ because in the case of cotton, the government had allowed complete duty-free import,” he added.
Bilwani said the removal of regulatory duty supported the value-added textile sector to some extent, whereas the situation necessitates to also remove the customs duty to fully support the value-added textile sector to complete their export orders which they have materialised for the next several months.
He urged that the government must realise the sensitivity of the matter to support the value-added textile exports as due to unavailability of cotton yarn, the prices of cotton yarn of 30/1, which were Rs235 per pound during the month of October 2020, have reached Rs260 per pound.
He said the government must accord high priority to the matter in order to turn its policy to enhance export into reality.
