PHMA demands withdrawal of duty on cotton yarn import

FAISALABAD: Mian Farrukh Iqbal, Senior Vice Chairman, Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers & Exporters Association (PHMA) has appreciated government's resolve to ensure duty-free import of raw material for value-added sector and demanded that government must withdraw custom duty on import of cotton yarn to achieve its ambitious targets of enhancing textile exports to $50 billion by the year 2025.

He said that yarn is a basic raw material for the value-added textile sector but its domestic production has been squeezed to minimum due to drastic cut in the production of raw cotton.

"The Government must realize the gravity of this issue to support the Value Added Textile Exports," he said and added that due to the non-availability of cotton yarn, the prices of cotton yarn are increasing day by day which has brought an upshot in the cost of manufacturing pushing the exporters towards unviable situation and un-competitiveness.

Mian Farrukh Iqbal said that exporters were unable to meet export orders due to shortage of cotton yarn in the local market.

He said that this critical situation demands that the government must immediately abolish customs

duty on import of Cotton Yarn.

He further said that Pakistan was an agricultural country but no concrete steps or measures have been taken in addition to enhance its production through introduction of high yielding and disease resistant varieties of cotton.

He pleaded with the Prime Minister to order immediate removal of custom duty on import of cotton yarn so that the value-added textile sector could get raw material at competitive rates and retain its competitive edge in the regional markets.-PR

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021