Pakistan to take up cotton import issue with India: Commerce secretaries' meeting

Pakistan will take up the cotton import issue with the Indian government, besides requesting it to withdraw its opposition to the proposed European Union's trade concessions offered to Pakistan in the upcoming Commerce Secretaries' level talks, it was learnt reliably.
The Textile Ministry has already sent a request to the Foreign Office to take up the issue of Indian opposition to European Union's concession to Pakistan with the Indian government. Commerce Ministry has sought the Textile Ministry's input for the scheduled Commerce Secretaries meeting agenda between Pakistan and India to be held on April 27 and 28 in Islamabad.
Accordingly, Textile Ministry has sent an agenda to the Commerce Ministry in which Indian government has been asked to facilitate cotton exports from India to Pakistan as per the contracts signed between Pakistani importers and Indian exporters, informed sources revealed to Business Recorder.
Textile Ministry has requested the government to negotiate with India to facilitate Pakistan's value-added textile exports and ease imports of raw materials, the sources maintained. Pakistani importers negotiated import of 1.2 million bales with their Indian counterparts; however the Indian government banned cotton exports in view of unprecedented world-wide price rise. This ban was in violation of their contracts and led to panic in Pakistan's spinning industry, as the Indian exporters backed out of their commitment after entering into legal agreements. Later Pakistan took the issue with the Indian government, however the matter remains unresolved.