Federal finance minister Miftah Ismail has said that 2/3rd of the cotton crop in Sindh has been destroyed by the floods and the government would facilitate the textile mills in the import of raw material (probably by not creating hurdles in opening of letter of credit).
On September 10, 2022, he visited the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry along with FBR chairman and state bank Deputy Governor (connected through Skype) and then he paid a visit to the Lahore office of All Pakistan Textile Mills Association along with the same team plus minister for Railways Saad Rafiq. The issue of cotton export from India came into discussion but entrepreneurs did not press it.
The good news for the textile industry in Punjab was the promise of the finance minister to eliminate by next week the gas price difference between mills operating in the rest of the country and Punjab. Currently the mills in Punjab pay more than two times higher gas tariffs than paid by mills in the other three provinces. The formula probably would be to impose the same tariff throughout the country as is done in case of petroleum products. This would increase the gas tariff in other provinces and lower it in Punjab to ensure uniform prices throughout the country. Miftah also assured that gas for the industry is being arranged to ensure smooth supplies in winter.
The minister also asked the FBR chairman to visit APTMA soon to resolve their problems relating to taxes and refunds. The governor State Bank of Pakistan will also visit the association office to resolve millers’ issues of bank finances. The APTMA announced to donate Rs100 million for flood victims.
