With the demand for cotton getting out of hand in the time when it was already very scarce in the market has called for desperate measure as the Economic Coordination Council (ECC) on Wednesday, 31st march announces to revoke the ban placed on importing cotton from India. This hearty news for the value added sectors was announced by the newly appointed Federal Finance Minister Hammad Azhar as he chaired the first ECC meeting today. The ECC has decided to import sugar from India informed Finance Minister. Hammad said it has been decided to export cotton from India due to lower prices there. The import of cotton from India will start at the end of June, he informed.
“The private sector could import up to 500,000 metric tons of sugar from India. The minister said that the decision will improve our supply chain position and meet the shortage in the domestic market. Replying to a query, Hammad said that as per their estimates the rate of sugar in India is 15-20 percent lower than in Pakistan”, said Hammad Azhar.
“Likewise there is a huge demand for cotton in Pakistan due to rise in textile exports. However, the cotton crop output last year was not satisfactory,” he said. Therefore, on the proposal of the Ministry of Commerce, the ECC has decided to allow cotton import from India as well, which will benefit our SMEs”, Azhar continued.
