Ban on copper bars export urged

LAHORE: The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Tuesday urged the government to ban the export of copper bars to safeguard the local industry.

In a letter to Federal Minister for Industries and Production Muhammad Hammad Azher, LCCI President Mian Tariq Misbah said that copper is one of the most important base metals for use in the engineering sector.

The small and medium enterprises (SMEs) involved in the engineering sector, including electric cables, enamel wire for all kind of motors /pumps, control panels etc, use copper as raw material for various components.

These industries employ thousands of workers and produce value-added products that are widely used in industrial, commercial, and domestic sectors, he said.

The LCCI president said most of the SMEs cannot directly import the metal due to minimum shipment size, the lack of access to the international trade network or unavailability of bank trade lines.

They primarily depend on the copper extracted from scrap and refined by local furnaces / metal plants.

The local copper metal plants / furnaces prefer to export the copper due to export and tax benefits. The governments in the past, had imposed a duty to discourage its export.

“However, the influential furnace / metal plant owners have lobbied at the FBR and got the ban removed,” he added.

It is against the country’s interest to export a raw material required for the local value-added industry. The countries that extract copper from scrap have placed restrictions / ban on its export. Such countries include India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, he added.