The government is all set to officially launch the much anticipated Textile Policy this month, informed Special Assistant to Prime Minister Abdul Razak Dawood.

“The Textile Policy is not being delayed, it is being implemented. It will go to the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) this month definitely,” said Dawood, while talking to Arab News.

Talking about the impact of COVID-19 outbreak, the advisor said that the government had taken into account the coronavirus factor in the new policy and will make changes accordingly with the arrival of vaccine.

“Substantial target was set but the COVID-19 outbreak happened and I am concerned that things may change so that’s why I am holding it for a little while. The times have really changed, so let’s see if the vaccine comes than the situation will change,” said Dawood

As per Cotton Analyst, Naseem Usman the government has almost finalised Textile Policy 2020-25 with cash subsidies and lower rates on utilities to boost production of textiles and clothing in the country.

The draft policy has already been submitted to the prime minister secretariat after which it will submit to the cabinet for approval. The last textile policy was announced in 2014 by the-then textile minister Abbas Khan Afridi.

The proposed package carries special duty-drawback rates, rationalisation of duty on textile value chain and subsidy on long-term loans and development subsidies.

Under the policy, it has been proposed to provide electricity at 7.5 cents for the textile sector, followed by RLNG at $6.5 per mmBtu and domestic produced gas at Rs786 per mmBtu. The policy aims to reduce the input cost of textile and clothing sector and make it competitive with the regional players.