The Advisor to the Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment, Abdul Razak Dawood recommended allowing the import of cotton yarn from India. The demand was realistic and the need of the hour according to the textile sector of Pakistan.
The ECC’s recommendations were forwarded o Cabinet for approval.
The Cabinet stated clearly “NO trade with India” until they reverse their illegal actions viz IIOJK of 5 Aug 2019.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi also said the cabinet had ruled that “normalizing relations with India will not be possible” until it overturned the measures it took regarding occupied Kashmir’s special status. He said that “A perception was emerging that relations with India have moved towards normalization and trade has been opened,” Qureshi said. “There was an exchange of thoughts on this and there was a unanimous opinion on this, and it was the prime minister’s as well that as long as India does not review the unilateral steps it took on August 5, 2019, normalizing relations with India will not be possible.”
Former interior minister and chairman Institute of Research and Reforms (IRR) Rehman Malik.
He welcomed and thanked the federal cabinet for rejecting the Economic Coordination Council’s proposal of lifting ban on sugar and cotton imports from India. He said that “It is good that the government quickly realized the public sentiments and reaction over Wednesday’s decision.
”
Jawed Bilwani, Chairman of Pakistan Apparel Forum, said the federal cabinet’s decision had disappointed the textile export industry. The textile export sector has been continuously demanding duty-free import of cotton yarn from all over the world, including India, to avert any big loss to textile exports. He said that the rejection of the ECC’s proposal by the cabinet would convey a negative message to foreign buyers as the cotton yarn was not available in the country.
Mr. Bilwani Chairman of Pakistan Apparel Forum claimed that prices of cotton yarn had increased after the federal cabinet’s decision. The government must ensure the availability of cotton yarn in the country if it did not want to allow its import from India. He feared that massive textile export decline if the import of cotton yarn from the neighboring country was not allowed. In the current year, the country faced 40 percent plunge in cotton production and if it was compared with 15 million bales in 2014-2015, then the drop was 50pc this year.
The whole situation has caused chaos in the textile industry of Pakistan. Government should search for alternatives to tackle the shortage of cotton yarn.
