Hailing the government decision to withdraw 5 per cent regulatory duty (RD) on the import of cotton yarn, the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) recently said the move would greatly support the textile sector and contribute to economic stability. FPCCI president Mian Anjum Nisar said RD on cotton yarn should be completely ended.
Nisar said the country has been unable to achieve its full exports potential in the textile sector and product diversification owing to limited access to raw-material, and therefore, terminating RD on cotton would allow exporters to achieve price competitiveness and product diversification.
“As the country receives huge exports orders, local production of cotton is in sufficient to meet the demand of the textile. Cotton was not available at competitive prices due to the RD and hectic procedures, while the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns in recent past have also worsened the situation,” Nisar was quoted as saying by Pakistani media reports.
“The second wave of COVID-19 is also a serious threat to textile productivity. The cotton crop was severely damaged due to torrential rainfalls last year. It is estimated that the cotton production was in the range of six to eight million bales against the local textile sector’s requirement of 15-16m bales,” he added.
