Daily Times

KARACHI: Step to impose regulatory duty on import of cotton from India through Wagha Border is the outcome of false data and non-professional approach of Senate Standing Committee on National Food Security and Research, said members of All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) on Friday.

While rejecting the recommendation of the committee, the members said the country only has 100,000 plus cotton bales remaining and the stock would be consumed before the arrival of new crop, adding that the quality of available lint with the ginners, according to Trading Corporation of Pakistan, is very low and can only be used in the open end processing or for production od lower count of yarn.

APTMA Chairman Tariq Saud said Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in his budget speech accepted that due to the failure of cotton crop by about 35 percent, this year’s growth rate has declined by about 0.5 percent.

He said the failure of local cotton crop by about 35 percent has put extra burden on the industry to import more than 4.5 million bales of cotton to meet the consumption requirement of the spinning industry. “This decline in production of cotton in the country has not only affected the operations of basic textile industry, which is already suffering due to high cost of doing business and shortage of energy, but also resulted in the surge in import of cotton yarn and fabrics,” the APTMA chairman added.

Due to high cost of doing business and other factors, the domestic industry is unable to compete in the international market, which can be confirmed from the fact that in the 11 months of the current financial year, the imports of cotton yarn has almost doubled as compared with 2014-15, Saud lamented.

He said India does not give any subsidy to its farmers on export of cotton to Pakistan. India, since independence, has undertaken variety of land reforms including modern farming system, whereas no land reforms and modern cotton farming technology was introduced in Pakistan, he added.

Tariq Saud said the reason behind the enhancement in production of cotton crop in India is due to the introduction of modern technology and research, which we were lacking in Pakistan.

The APTMA chief rejected recommendation of the standing committee, as the industry was facing acute shortage of cotton, flooding the local market with the imported yarn and fabrics.

He demanded the government to provide incentives and better quality cottonseed to the growers traditionally cultivating cotton to produce more and more cotton instead of other crops.

The reorganization of cotton research institutions is vital at the moment, as existing research centres have failed to come up with the expected results to meet the consumption requirement of the industry, he said, adding that the cotton research centers, controlled by the government, were presently in pathetic state and the cotton cess of Rs 50 per bale obtained from spinning industry was being wasted.