Removal of duty on cotton import hailed

ISLAMABAD: The government has issued the much-awaited statutory regulatory order (SRO) heralding the permission to import cotton with zero duty providing relief to the textile industry.

“Yes, the FBR has issued the required SRO at last and the unscrupulous elements in the government backed with cotton hoarders have been defeated, but they managed non-implementation of the decision taken by the federal cabinet and ECC for 21 days,” Ejaz Gohar, eminent textile industrialist, told The News.

Ejaz Gohar said that the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) on January 5 approved zero rating of import of cotton and if the decision was implemented then and there, 21 days would not have been wasted. “Now with the issuance of sales and customs duty free import of cotton, the industry would not import 3 million cotton bales which will help increase $3 billion exports,” he said.

The eminent textile industrialist said Pakistan has produced 11.5 million bales with 150kg weight each which is factually equal to 10 million bales with weight of 170kg each. And in this way, he said, the country had missed the 3 million bales which the government permitted on January 5 for import but it took the long period of 21 days on account of influential black marketers.

He explained that the use of one million cotton bales results in exports of $1 billion. To a question, he said the SRO notification is not time bound and under this industry will be able to import 3 million cotton bales leading to $3 billion exports.

Adviser to All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) Shahid Sattar said black marketers influenced the government after the ECC decision and made the textile industry hostage for 21 days.

Shahid Sattar said that in Pakistan middleman gets 45 percent price of cotton and farmers have only 55 percent share in the cotton price whereas in the other cotton growing countries of the world, middleman gets only 12 percent and farmers community has 88 percent share in cotton prices.