In order to facilitate the exporter, the Ministry of Commerce has approved Rs 213 million for the non-textile sector under the drawback of local taxes and levy (DLTL) refunds.

“I am happy to inform that Rs. 213 million for DLTL payments of non-textile sector have been approved,” said Advisor to Prime Minister on Trade and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood in a statement on Wednesday.

The advisor informed that these funds are now with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and will soon be disbursed to the relevant exporters. “Our policy is not to put any working capital constraints for our exporters,” he said while adding that he is hopeful that payments will facilitate the non-textile exporters.

Pakistan’s non textile exports have shown healthy growth despite COVID-19 pandemic lead global economic slowdown. During Jul-Dec 2020, the exports of pharmaceuticals increased by 25 percent to USD 138 million, Ethyl Alcohol (Industrial) by 14pc to USD 182 million, Tobacco and Cigarettes by 84.50pc to USD 29 million, and Processed Food by 120pc to USD 25 million.

Earlier, Pakistan exports for month of December 2020 have grown by 18.3pc to USD 2.357 billion as compared to USD 1.993 billion in December 2019, an increase of USD 364 million over December 2019.