ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Commerce has pointed out four main reasons of decreasing exports of cotton products.
These reasons include inconsistency in cotton crop, rising cost of business, shrinking global demand and decrease in cotton prices in the international market.
The export volume and value of cotton and cotton related products comprising, raw cotton, cotton yarn, cotton cloth, cotton carded or combed, knitwear, bed wear, towels, tents, canvas and tarpaulin and ready-made garments have reduced significantly during the last few years.
Sources told Customs Today that Pakistani cotton exports have declined to $9,363 million in the fiscal year 2015-16 from $1,0195 million during the corresponding period in the fiscal year 2014-15 (July-March).
Similarly, value of cotton exports were $11617 million, $12165 million and 11984 million in financial years 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15 respectively.
However, a well placed source at Ministry of Commerce (MoC) told this scribe that in a bid to stabilize as well as boost the cotton exports, MoC took numerous measures including a sector specific international exhibition of textile products, TEXPO 2016, under the auspices Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) for the first time on in April this year in Karachi.
“Furthermore, in order to reduce cost of doing business, MoC also got approval of reducing power tariff from the Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet. Electricity tariff were reduced by Rs3 for the industrial units” the source added.
Similarly, the source availability of affordable finance for the export sector was considerably improved and the State Bank of Pakistan further reduced the discount rate which currently stood at 6%. The Export Finance Rate currently at 3.5% was the lowest in a decade especially for textile sector.
Moreover, under Textile Policy 2015-19, an amount of Rs64.15 billion would be spent on the textile sector to double the exports of textiles and clothing sector from the existing $13 billion to $26 billion by the year 2019.
