15% yarn export duty may be withdrawn

MULTAN: The 15 per cent regulatory duty on yarn export may be withdrawn, said the Federal Minister for Food and Agriculture Nazar Mohammad Gondal.

“Withdrawal of yarn duty is only a few days away,” he said while addressing a ceremony at the Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) late Thursday evening.

Responding to a question from industrialists, he said they should keep their hopes alive that the yarn export duty would not continue any further.

The minister, however, added that it was a battle between spinners and value added sector to safeguard their interests.

When asked about Kalabagh Dam, Gondal said that water shortage is a reality and the country needs new dams. However, Kalabagh Dam was not more important than the federation, he stated.

“Politicians who are politicising the issue did not even talk about this project when they were in power during the regime of dictators,” he added.

“Pakistan can have many Kalabagh Dam-like water reservoirs provided there exists inter-provincial harmony and a strong bond of love and unity among people,” Gondal said.

He further said that the government was introducing reforms in state-owned research institutions, adding that now they cannot spend more than 50 per cent of the budget on salaries.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 24th, 2010.