By By Mansoor Ahmad
The trade and industry is generally against the assistance being offered under the Kerry-Lugar bill because they are of the opinion that trade, not aid or grants, is a better option to come out of the current economic downturn.
The businessmen simply wanted Hillary to reduce or eliminate the high tariffs imposed on Pakistan’s textiles. They pointed out that United States is in the process of providing duty-free access to textiles from Bangladesh and is in the final stages of concluding a Free Trade Agreement with India, but has denied both these regimes to Pakistan.
The proposed 15-year duty- free access to products made in terror-hit zones, they pointed out, would be of no use because it would be impossible to establish industries in those troubled areas where infrastructure has been totally destroyed.
Clinton instead kept assuring businessmen the United States would address energy and development project issues through the $1.5 billion that it has promised to provide to Pakistan annually for the next five years. Lahore was also the center of the ongoing dispute between spinners and the value added textile sector.
The value clothing exporters accused the spinners of unduly exploiting them by increasing yarn rates to very high levels although they bought cotton from the local market at 25 per cent lower than its global rates.
The value added sector wants a ban imposed on the export of yarn.
The spinners continue to defend their position stating that exports of yarn were at the same level as in 2006-07. They said there was a decline in yarn exports in the last two years because of government policies and a global recession.
They claim yarn is available for the clothing sector but at a higher rate, as the rates of cotton in the local market has touched Rs4000 per month against Rs3400 per month in the month of September. The dispute remains unresolved.
There was mixed reaction in Lahore to the decisions taken by the Federal Government on Wednesday regarding gas, sugar and rice.
The industry is definitely overjoyed by the decision to cut its gas supplies for two days a week. Earlier, gas was cut to the industry for four straight months. This forced them to generate power and energy from costly furnace oil. Now they would be required to shift to furnace oil for only two days a week. This is a better option than not having gas for long periods. CNG stations, however, do not like the idea because all the gas is being squeezed from them to facilitate industries, while commercial and domestic consumers have been spared. They have threatened to go on a strike if the decision is not withdrawn.
The decision of fixing the minimum procurement price of super basmati paddy at Rs1250 per maund has annoyed rice exporters who warn of a steep decline in rice exports as global rates are much lower.
The farmers got more than the current support price on the previous two harvests. They claim they would not be able to break even as input rates have increased substantially during this period.
The sugar policy has been announced. The chit provided by farmers has always been declared as a negotiable document, but banks do not honour these because the amount is not available in the sugar millers’ account.
Farmers demand that credit line provided to sugar mills for the purchase of sugarcane should be exclusively utilized for the payment of the commodity which farmers supply to mills and provided the receipt to the bank as a negotiable document.
They said once the money is exhausted in the mills’ account, providing a chit should be made a criminal offence.
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