Ban on import of used textile machinery and parts are causing huge financial losses to the national exchequer. President of Used Machinery Importers Association M. Ayub Mughal stated this. Talking to newsmen on Tuesday, Mughal criticised Appendix-C of trade policy, and alleged that concerned officials did not consult used Machinery Importers Association and other stakeholders.
Mughal, who is also Vice-President of Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) said that smuggled goods had flooded the local markets and Chinese goods were available at cheaper rates. He said that circuit breakers, used bearings, compressor heads, industrial gate wall and air blowers for textile machinery were not manufactured in Pakistan.
He also mentioned the importance of used bearings, and said that most of the transport, running on rural and link roads, used these used bearings. As such, ban on its import had created problems for the small transporters and small-scale industries.
He was also critical of the discriminatory ban on its imports, and alleged that these goods were cleared without any hurdle from Lahore and Karachi ports because of corruption, but the same was confiscated at Faisalabad dry port. Mughal demanded of the government to take immediate notice of this anomaly, and recalled that Federal Commerce Secretary Salman Ghani had assured to lift ban on import of these items, which has not been fulfilled.
He demanded of the Commerce Ministry to negotiate with used machinery importers to resolve this issue. He also demanded withdrawal of ban on import of used machinery under "Appendix-C," and issuance of a directive to clear the consignments of used machinery rusting at various dry ports in the country.