KARACHI: The local market remained stable on Monday. Market Sources told that trading volume remained thin.
Cotton Analyst Naseem Usman told Business Recorder that Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Food Security Jamshed Iqbal Cheema has assured the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s Regional Committee on Cotton and Textile for fixing the support price of cotton at Rs 5000 per maund.
Meanwhile, Leading export associations have declared Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) proposed unified export scheme as an anti-export measure to shift all export promotion schemes from Regulatory Collectorates to the Input Output Coefficient Organization (IOCO) by creating the complications in granting approvals, audit and submission of securities.
Some of the associations which have approached the FBR regarding the proposed scheme are: Pakistan Textile Exporters Association; Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industries; Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturing Association; All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetables Exporters Association and others.
Exporters told Business Recorder that the proposed scheme would have serious implications in granting the approval and security instruments. The audit has been proposed to be transferred to the Post Clearance Audit (PCA) without any consultation and recommendations of major stakeholders like exporters. The IOCO and PCA have only three offices across Pakistan, whereas the Islamabad office of the IOCO is still not operational.
The IOCO was created to assist on various technical and industrial issues relating to input/output wastage, determination of correct duty drawback in an institutionalized manner containing the sector specialists like engineers, cost accountants, and chemical examiners to do surveys in the fields on the basis of information provided by the applicant as well as by the Regulatory Collectorates.
Through the new scheme, the question arises why the IOCO has been given power of Regulatory Authorities and shifting its original domain of technical supporter of the custom wing.
An organization needs to give support as a helping and technical hand to regulatory authorities on huge amounts of remission, but it plans to get power from the regulatory authorities.
The IOCO should have to improve itself in international standards and on industrial grounds to provide technical support within an appropriate timeframe, exporters said.
Moreover, Pakistan Yarn Merchants Association (PYMA) has urged Prime Minister Imran Khan to remove additional customs duty (ACD) and regulatory duty (RD) on basic raw material synthetic yarns for making the textile industry competitive in international markets, and also requested to reduce turnover tax on yarn traders so that trade and industry can be restored to normal and exports can boost, which is already affected by Covid-19 pandemic.
In a meeting at the PYMA, Hanif Lakhany, vice president of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), senior vice chairman of Pakistan Yarn Merchants Association (PYMA), and Farhan Ashrafi, vice chairman of PYMA and convener FPCCI’s central standing committee on yarn trading with members of managing committee, discussed the negative effects of Covid-19 pandemic on trade and industry.
Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib while addressing the members of Pakistan Textile Exporters Association said that the budget for the new financial year would be people friendly and in their favour.
Chairman PTEA Muhammad Ahmad, in his welcome address, commended Government’s policies and Prime Minister Imran Khan’s revolutionary steps to enhance exports. He said that confidence of the business community has been restored as a result of Government’s prudent economic policies, which has accelerated the economic process in the country.
As a result of Government’s growth-led initiatives especially market based flexible exchange rate, energy package for export sectors, timely refund payments and availability of LTFF and TERF at subsidized rates, textile export sector has come on track and our exports have witnessed positive growth, he said. Textile value chain has created 50000 new job opportunities; whereas 100 billion rupees investment is in pipeline which will further create 100000 more job opportunities.
Appreciating Governments exemplary initiative of liquidation of long outstanding refunds of exporters, PTEA’s patron-in-chief Khurram Mukhtar said that this has released the financial stress for exporters.
Pakistan can become an economic giant by utilizing its trade and investment potential. By addressing the challenges faced by export sectors especially textile export industry, we can achieve much needed economic growth. He said that, we are the country having GSP+ status for preferential trade but have not used the opportunity very well.
Pakistan must actively exploit the openings of GSP+ status. Textile exporters stand ready to fulfill the Premier’s vision of economic prosperity through enhanced exports as textile value chain has envisioned investing 2 billion dollars to generate 200,000 new jobs and achieve sizable growth.
Naseem Usman told that in line with market expectations, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) maintained the status quo and left the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 7percent for the next two months.
All Pakistan Textile Mills Association has thanked Prime Minister Imran Khan for its industry friendly policies due to which GDP witnessed a growth of 3.94 percent and textile exports up by 17.4 percent and expected to reach 15.5 billion dollar in 2021 and will cross 20 billion dollar by 2022.
Cotton Cooperation of India has increased prices today by 200-500 Rs\Candy across all growths of all Zones for 2020-21 season and for 2019-20 season.
The Spot Rate remained unchanged at Rs 12300 per maund. The Polyester Fiber was available at Rs 200 per kg.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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