KCA seeks waiver of duties, taxes on cotton import

05 Jul '16

2 min read

The Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) has urged the government to waive all duties and taxes on import of cotton immediately to facilitate the local textile industry meeting their requirement of raw material from abroad amid shortage of commodity in the country.

The Pakistani textile industry has been compelled to import raw cotton from overseas markets to meet its demand requirement of basic raw material following the devastating crop failure in 2015-16 season when cotton output fell to 9.786 million bales, the KCA said in a statement on Monday.

“The industry wants to ensure contribution towards achieving the target of exports fixed by the government,” the KCA said.

“However, the increased taxes on imported cotton are not only translating to rise in cost of doing business of the textile sector, but also making such products costlier in the international market,” it added.

The textile industry pays three per cent custom duty and one per cent additional duty on import of cotton.

The KCA urged the government to ensure free trading policy in cotton i.e. free export and free import of cotton without any quantitative and qualitative restrictions.

The government needs to take concrete measures to increase cotton production in the years to come, the statement said. This would ensure that there would be ample surplus cotton available for the domestic consumptions as well as exports to keep the presence of Pakistan cotton in the international market and earn much needed foreign exchange for the country. The provision of export surplus will ensure international price of cotton to the Pakistani growers. (SH)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India

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