As the local crop of Sindh-Balochistan zone is likely to remain low this year to 11.25 million bales against the requirement of 14.5 million bales, the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) seeks immediate withdrawal of four per cent import duty on raw cotton by the Government.
Since it is clear that the local crop is short of the requirements of the industry, it is necessary that timely action may be taken so that the exports of the country do not suffer any further. It is not possible for the textile industry to bear the additional burden of four percent import duty and compete in the export market against countries, which have a lower cost of raw cotton due to local availability without import incidentals.
According to APTMA, currently, around 80 to 82 per cent of the crop has been absorbed by the textile industry. Hence, it is misleading to state that the ginners and TCP had sufficient stocks of cotton lint to fulfill the needs of the industry.