The Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (Prgmea) has urged the government to raise duty drawback rates on garment exports to 10 percent.
The demand was made by Prgmea Chairman Tahir Aziz to help the exporters to compete with Indian and Bangladeshi products, heavily subsidised by their governments.
The Prgmea chief, in a statement, said the garment exporters were losing markets because of the subsidised products of their rivals.
If the duty drawback rates were not revised upward, Pakistan would be completely out of the international garment market, he added.
Tahir Aziz said the Pakistani exporters had been competing with their rivals, because they had the advantage of reduced cotton price at home. But since the cotton prices had been globalised, it had, therefore, become difficult to sell Pakistani products in the export market due to their higher price, he said.
He said when under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) regime, subsidies would be eliminated, there would be a level plying field for all the exporters, but Pakistani garment exporters, who would be in need of a cushion to compete in the world market.
Tahir pointed out that the export of woven garments had declined during the first seven months of the current fiscal and the recent increase in the exports was due to the shipments made of cotton available on reduced prices.
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