Pakistan's textile millers demand removal of cotton import duty

Quality of locally produced cotton had deteriorated: APTMA

LAHORE: All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma) Chairman Dr Amanullah Kassim Machiara has urged the government to remove import duty from cotton as the industry has spent $1.5 billion on the import of 5.5 million bales due to 35% crop shortfall in the country this year.

Addressing a press conference along with Aptma Punjab Chairman Adil Bashir on Tuesday, he said the quality of locally produced cotton had deteriorated in comparison to other cotton-producing countries.

“The imposition of duty has had a heavy impact on the entire production value chain,” he lamented.

“The government’s crop estimate is always on the higher side, which is seldom accurate. This year again, the initial estimate of 15 million bales was suddenly revised downwards to 10 million bales, which has now been reduced to 9.5 million bales, resulting in shortage of 5.5 million bales.”

Published in The Express Tribune, October 16^th, 2019.

Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.