PAKISTAN: Government is likely to extend Duty for two months.
The government is likely to extend the 15 percent regulatory duty on yarn exports for two months, giving in to the pressure from the value-added textile sector, sources privy to a meeting held in Islamabad told The News.
Egytex News Desk
Egytex
Federal Minister for Textile Rana Muhammad Farooq Saeed Khan chaired a meeting with the stakeholders of the industry to decide about the regulatory duty on yarn, which would end on July 26 if not extended.
No decision was taken in the meeting, but a meeting to be held by the end of the week would taka a final decision, said a source.
Opposing the continuation of regulatory duty, APTMA leaders demanded there should be free market mechanism. They said any continuation of the regulatory duty would be unfair to them.
Zubair Motiwalla, leader of the value-added sector, said the country should determine its consumption before exporting the raw material. Once local demand is met, the value added sector would have no objection to export of surplus yarn or cotton, he said. He demanded that the regulatory duty should continue for two more months after which a clear picture of the cotton crop would be available.
Ijaz Khokhar, former PRGMEA chairman, told the meeting that readymade garment exporters were uncertain of their future as raw material continued to be exported. He said the readymade garments sector comprised mostly of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), who had run out of finances.
Representatives of the value added textile sector said if they earned good prices after value addition, everyone would benefit including growers, ginners and spinners. However, export of cotton and yarn would bring no revolution, they said.
All stakeholders agreed that growers should get the benefit of increasing prices. They sold their cottonseed at Rs3,000 to Rs3,200 per maund, but lint was sold for up to Rs8,000.
Sources said the body language of spinners showed they still had reservations about the Federal Minister of Textile. During last financial year, they had boycotted the textile ministry on the plea that the federal minister supported the value added sector. Former federal minister Jehangir Tarin represented growers. Minister for Agriculture and Food Nazar Muhammad Gondal also attended the meeting. —Shahid Shah
From the Egytex news archive, first published on 20 July 2010. Figures and names are as reported at the time.
