HYDERABAD: Chairman All Pakistan Fresh Coconut Importers Association Mohammed Akram Ansari in his press statement said that ministry of Trade and Industries had imposed ban on the import of more 800 different items hastily without consulting and taking business community onboard.

He said that SRO issued by the ministry had also banned import of fresh coconut. He said that coconut was not produce in Pakistan thus we had to import it. He said that around 4 lac people earned their livelihood from coconut business while coconut of around 95 thousand US dollars were imported and government received Rs 12 million as tax from it.

He informed that coconut was used in religious feasts of minorities particularly Hindu, Sikh and other communities. He appealed to the government of Pakistan to exempt coconut import from the SRO.598(I)/2022 under which import of 800 items were banned as according to him banning coconut import would not benefit government and it seriously would affected business men.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022