President Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) Muhammad Saeed Sheikh has welcomed Rs 180 billion textile package but expressed concern over the condition of 10 percent increase in exports to qualify for the duty-drawback.
In a statement issue here on Friday, he said that FCCI has been demanding since long that government should take concerned stakeholders into confidence before making important economic related decisions. He said no doubt the textile package is a positive step to check the decline in textile export but there are some genuine discrepancies which may deprive government as well as the exporters of the benefits of this textile package.
He was also critical of allowing 4 percent duty drawback to the yarn and grey fabrics as it will strengthen our regional compotators like Bangladesh that is getting basic raw material from Pakistan and earning substantial foreign exchange after value edition in this raw material.
He said that this step will be detrimental to the value-added sector of Pakistan which is the main source of providing jobs to the hundred, thousands of workers in addition to earning precious foreign exchange for the country. He said that the government should realise that the spinning sector add only 1 percent in the value of raw cotton while the garments, made ups, home textile and hosiery sectors earn manifold profit in the value of yarn.
Hence the value-added sector needs extra encouragement and incentives. He further said that the textile package could yield more benefits if the government's strategy is focused on the mitigation of problems confronted by the value-added sector. He said that the condition of increasing 10 percent in the export to avail from the duty drawback is also not fair as it will discourage exporters related with the value added sector.
He further said that the exporters will get the duty draw back on the value of their exports only and hence the condition to enhance 10% exports particularly in the prevailing international melt down is highly unjustified. He has demanded immediate revision in the modalities of textile package in order to remove these discrepancies so that the textile sector could be revived through this textile package.