APTMA seeks withdrawal of restrictions on cotton import

All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) chairman Aamir Fayyaz recently urged the government for immediate withdrawal of restrictions, such as the 4 per cent customs duty and the 5 per cent sales tax, on import of cotton. The move hopes  to allow the textile industry to meet the export requirement of quality textile products by international buyers.

Non-tariff measures on import of cotton from India and Brazil should also go, he said, as the industry badly needs contamination-free fine and medium staple cotton to produce export-quality goods, according to Pakistani media reports.

The above restrictions were imposed despite promises to the contrary under the Prime Minister’s Export Package, he said.

The industry has so far procured only around half of its requirement of cotton and cotton-dependent textile value chain has been forced to procure quality cotton from abroad to meet its demand. Continuation of such restrictions will prove detrimental to the textile value chain, Fayyaz added.