Spinners have lambasted the Polyester Staple Fibre (PSF) manufacturers for increasing polyester price by Rs 7 per kg after having protection in the shape of anti-dumping duty from the government. The National Tariff Commission (NTC) has imposed 10 percent anti-dumping duty on the Chinese suppliers of polyester, putting the spinning sector into a troublesome situation amid high energy crisis.
The spinners said an increase of Rs 7 per kg in the price of local polyester shows that the local manufacturers have decided to exploit the situation fully. According to them, the government on the one hand was extending a soft corner to the PSF manufacturers and farmers and on the other ignoring the spinning industry.
"Whenever there is a price fluctuation in cotton, the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) jumps in to save the farmers community and the NTC gets involved whenever the spinners ensure cheap polyester from abroad," said one former office-bearer of All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma).
The industry circles further feared that the NTC was restraining its access to low-priced raw material at the behest of the 'cartel' of domestic synthetic fibre manufacturers. According to them, the anti-dumping laws are generally invoked to restrict the inflow of low priced finished goods to protect domestic industries and now raw material.