Yarn import duty cuts demanded

KARACHI: Yarn merchants on Friday urged the country’s top commerce official to keep his promise regarding removal of additional customs and regulatory duties on synthetic yarns.

“The government should play a role in providing raw materials to the textile industry at reasonable prices, otherwise PM’s dream of industrial and economic development would never come true,” said Hanif Lakhany, Senior Vice Chairman Pakistan Yarn Merchants Association (PYMA) in a statement.

Lakhani said last year commerce adviser Adbul Razak Dawood had promised to remove these barriers, but to no avail, which was adding to the cost of production big time.

“The prime minister's adviser has not kept his promise, which is a matter of grave concern to textile exporters and importers,” he said. In his statement, Farhan Ashrafi, Vice Chairman PYMA, said due to continuous rise in prices of textile industry raw materials and shortage of cotton, exporters were facing losses due to higher production costs against export orders. Ashrafi said because of the monopoly of two local manufacturers, anti-dumping duty was already imposed on synthetic yarns.