PCGA assails duty-free import of cotton

Local growers fear bleak prospects for domestic cotton after lifting of ban

MULTAN: Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) strongly opposed on Monday the duty-free import of cotton from India and other countries.

Describing the move as destructive for Pakistan’s cotton economy, PCGA Chairman Haji Muhammad Akram said that 1.857 million bales of cotton are lying at ginneries as unsold stock with textile millers reluctant to purchase it.

Flanked by senior PCGA officials at a press conference, Akram said that there is no justification for lifting an ‘undeclared’ ban on imports of ginned cotton at the cost of local growers.



“The growers fear bleak prospects for domestic cotton after the lifting of ban on cotton imports and are demanding the government to ensure procurement of their crop at reasonable rates,” Akram said.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 5^th, 2017.

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