LAHORE: The textile millers have condemned the cotton exports from Pakistan to India, terming it the last nail in the coffin of local textile industry.
All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma) Chairman Tariq Saud, in a statement, said that export of cotton, in the absence of determination of crop size for the year 2016-17, was against the domestic textile industry. “The failure of local cotton crop in 2015-16 by about 35 percent has already placed extra burden on the industry to import about 4 million bales of cotton to meet its consumption requirement,” he added.
Tariq said the cultivation of cotton this year was expected to decline by approximately 25 percent, which will ultimately reduce the availability of cotton for the spinning industry, compelling them to import cotton at 3 percent custom duty at import stage or otherwise exclude import of cotton from Custom Duty so that industry could remain competitive. He urged the government to provide level playing field and stop export of raw cotton till the determination of size of cotton crop for the next season or otherwise remove 3% custom duty on import of cotton.
