KARACHI: President of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Irfan Iqbal Sheikh has called for immediate resolution of anomalies pertaining to tea import.

He maintained that tea traders are suffering due to various anomalies and weaknesses in policies and regulations.

He said tea is taken as a finished product at the import stage; but as a matter of fact it is a raw material, which is then processed, blended, packaged and marketed.

Irfan Sheikh emphasised that the government should facilitate tea traders to keep the prices of tea at the lowest possible level while ensuring the best quality availability. He explained that the government should not set the maximum retail price at import stage or customs basis for the unblended tea and MRP should only be set for tea bags or final packaged product at the import stage.

Setting MRP at import stage for unblended tea makes no economic, commercial or regulatory sense, he added.

He stated this while meeting the delegation of tea traders led by Zeeshan Paracha, Chairman of Pakistan Tea Association.

Paracha apprised the FPCCI that the tea traders of the country proposed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Kenya to streamline the tea trade.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022