PESHAWAR: All Pakistan Textile Mill Association demanded that the government place a ban on the imports of yarn, fabric, and garments from India.
Chairman APTMA voiced his concern over the situation, saying that imported and smuggled textile goods have created a crisis in the textile industry and are hurting domestic commerce.
A bird’s eye view of SBP import numbers tells us that by and large, there are only a handful of categories from the yarn and fabrics segment where India has a high share worth mentioning. These fall under the cotton category and include Cotton not carded or combed (HS code 5201), Cotton yarn containing 85% or more by weight of cotton (HS code 5205), and Woven fabrics of cotton containing 85% or more by weight of cotton (HS code 5209).
So, within the cotton category, there are only three subcategories where India has a significant presence (in dollar terms as well as overall share), and outside of it, just a couple of subcategories. So, one might think that APTMA is exaggerating the situation.
Then again, one must keep in mind that the cotton category is a big one, and amounts to over one-fourth of total textile imports as of FY15. Thus, within these three subcategories alone, India amounts to almost 32 percent of Pakistan’s cotton imports, and over 8 percent of total textile imports.
When one compares the numbers to FY14, however, it turns out that Indian cotton imports have fallen by an enormous 48 percent year-on-year. Moreover, the share of the three major Indian imports in Pakistan’s total textile imports was 17 percent in FY14. As of FY15, it’s 8 percent. If anything, things have gotten much better, so why is APTMA complaining?
Well, in dollar terms, Pakistan’s textile imports from India have been markedly lower year-on-year in FY15. But when one looks at the PBS volumetric data for FY15, Pakistan’s textile imports were up by 13 percent year-on-year.
