FAISALABAD: All Pakistan Cotton Powerlooms Association (APCPA) chairman Rana Azhar Waqar said the price of cotton yarn in the local market has gone up by 30-35 percent in the last three months due to shortage of cotton.

If the government does not address this issue immediately, it is feared that 200,000 workers will lose their jobs. They demand the government to reduce the shortage of cotton and yarn prices or allow them to import yarn from India.

If the government does not take any step, a protest camp will be set up at Chowk Ghanta Ghar in collaboration with all the industrial and trade associations in which other protest options will also be used.

Rana Azhar Waqar said the government’s lack of interest in increasing cotton production has upset the exporters of the local value-added textile sector.

Export orders for many textile products are available in the global market, but Pakistani textile exporters are reluctant to accept new export orders due to unavailability of cotton yarn at the required quantity and prices.

He said the present situation demanded that the government should allow the import of cotton yarn with 32 single and less counts at zero rate duty.

Until the prices of cotton yarn are brought under control, all exporters, importers and manufacturers should be allowed to import cotton yarn from any country.

Vice chairman All Pakistan Cotton Power Looms Association Muhammad Ajmal Kasuri said 25 percent units in Faisalabad have been shut down due to shortage of yarn. Due to which orders received from abroad have also started to be canceled.

We get yarn every day and that’s why our production is down to fifty percent. If the government does not open the Wagah border, we will be completely closed in a few days.

Exporters are also worried that 50% of orders received from abroad will be canceled due to extra rates.

We are not able to compete in the market because of the rate at which we are getting yarn.

There are orders in the market but we don’t have a thread. Textile industrialists have also threatened to protest next week over rising yarn prices and unavailability.—PR

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021