Coarse yarn, raw cotton export: 'Aptma opposes demand for ban or 15 percent duty'

Muhammad Yasin Siddik, Chairman, Sindh-Balochistan Region of Aptma, on Wednesday categorically denied making a statement published in a section of press whereby asking for a ban or 15% duty on export of cotton and cotton yarn. He said Aptma has always been of the view that free market mechanism is the best policy to adopt and this policy has been successful for last many years and has helped the government get rid of the subsidy culture as well.
In a statement issued to the press, Yasin Siddik said during the last five years production of cotton was ranging between 11.4 to 11.7 million bales of 170-kg each except in the year 2009-10, when about 12.7 million bales were produced in the country. The estimated production for the current year ie 2011-12 announced by the Federal Committee on Agriculture of Government of Pakistan on 20th December, 2011 is 12.598 million bales and by 15th January 2012 about 12.5 million bales have already arrived in the local market, he added. Therefore, by the grace of God and despite damage from rains in Sindh, Pakistan will have a bumper crop this year.
Yasin Siddik further said that traditionally about 75% of yarn (cotton yarn) produced in the country is sold in the local market which is consumed by the downstream industry. He said the total production of spinning sector is about 246 million kilograms per month from January 2011 to December 2011 out of which on an average 37.8 million kilogramme of yarn was exported during January 2011 to November 2011 and remaining around 84.6% of cotton yarn produced in the country was sold in the local market which clearly proves that abundant yarn is available for the downstream industry.
He said that average per month exports of cotton yarn during the current financial year is 38.620 million kgs, which is well below the average per month exports of cotton yarn as compared to last year, which was 41.303 million kgs. On the other hand expected production of cotton for the current year ie 2011-12 is almost the same as of 2009-10 and about 10 percent higher than during last five years, hence, there is no shortage of cotton as well as cotton yarn in the country.
Chairman, Sindh Balochistan Region of APTMA said the imposition of quota or restriction on exports of cotton and cotton yarn is a measure that will hamper the growth and progress of the textile trade and lead to further complications for the spinning as well as the downstream sector, resulting in distortions in the entire textile chain and promote inefficiencies.-PR