Pakistani exporters want removal of import duty on cotton yarn

Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PHMA) has appealed to the government to withdraw duty on the import of cotton yarn, a raw material for the value-added knitwear sector, following the proposed withdrawal of custom duties on raw cotton import from India. 

The sharp rise in cotton yarn prices has hit the value-added garment sector hard.

The prime minister’s package for textile and apparel exporters announced on January 10 had declared a number of incentives, including withdrawal of customs duty and sales tax on the import of cotton yarn from January 16 this year, but no such step has been implemented so far, according to PHMA chairman Khurram Anwar Khawaja.

He appealed to the government to abolish additional regulatory duty on cotton yarn that should be imported freely from anywhere, a Pakistani newspaper reported.