KARACHI: 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.

The meeting was attended by a large number of members of the managing committee including Muhammad Usman, Khurshid Sheikh, Javed Khanani, Khurram Bharara, Sohail Nisar, Rizwan Deewan, Anis Mandavia, Adnan Riaz, Junaid Teli, Tanveer Pasha, Bilal Bakhsh and Abdullah.

Hanif Lakhany and Farhan Ashrafi said that due to skyrocketing prices of cotton and yarn in the local markets, the production cost of the textile industry has increased, which is the backbone of the country's economy.

"PYMA has repeatedly demanded of the federal government that if the state really wants to increase exports, it must provide relief to the export-oriented industries by reducing the taxes and duties so that exporters will be able to compete in the ongoing prices in world markets," they added.

The PYMA office-bearers appealed to Prime Minister Imran Khan to play his effective role in saving the textile industry and other related small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from collapse, and issue directives on the immediate abolition of additional customs duties and regulatory duties on synthetic yarns in the best interests of the economy and industry.