‘Yarn prices to hurt textile sector’

KARACHI: Muhammad Jawed Bilwani, chairman of the Pakistan Apparel Forum (APF), has expressed concern over increasing prices of cotton yarn, saying it would have a serious impact on the value-added textile exporters, a statement said on Monday.
The increase in yarn prices will ruin the government’s efforts to increase exports; reduce trade gap and to achieve a milestone in export figures, he added. During July-September 2017, 15.15 percent increase in quantity terms and 4.56 percent in dollar terms was recorded in cotton yarn exports. “It is evident that cotton yarn, basic raw material of our value-added textile exporters, is exported in huge quantity at low prices, while the cotton yarn is available at higher prices in the local market as compared to export price,” he added.