KARACHI: Pakistan Yarn Merchants Association (PYMA) has appealed Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar to not impose Regulatory Duty (RD) on imported Yarn.

The association has learnt that government was in process of imposing 5 per cent RD on import of Yarn on the pretext to discourage the import of Yarn, which was the raw material of the textile sector in Pakistan. Government should remember that we are importers of Polyester Filament Yarn, which is the main raw material in Pakistan’s textiles, and Yarn is not a finished product.

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In an emerging press conference held at Karachi Press Club, Former Chairman of Pakistan Yarn Merchants Association (PYMA) Mohammad Usman, Senior Vice Chairman Sohail Nisar, Vice Chairman Javed Khanani humbly submitted that Government was intending to impose RD while mistakenly treating Yarn as a finished item. On this occasion, Senior Vice Chairman FPCCI Suleman Chawla and former Chairman Saqib Goodluck were also present.

‘‘No Regulatory Duty should be imposed on the import of yarn to save traders from ruin. In this regard, PYMA leaders should be given an appointment so that the government can be informed about the complete facts and figures before taking any decision”, they requested.’’

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PYMA leaders also gave details of all the figures to the media in a briefing. Muhammad Usman, Sohail Nisar, Javed Khanani, Suleman Chawla and Saqib Goodluck appealed to the government to maintain the current duty structure of yarn and y not imposing RD on imported yarn to protect local textiles sector.

They Pointed out that the imposition of RD will have a direct impact on inflation in the country and worsen the situation. On the other hand, Yarn manufacturers will increase their prices according to the land cost of imported yarn, which in turn will increase the price of finished textile products and have a double effect on inflation.

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PYMA Leaders said, ‘‘This can lead to other industrial problems. He said that Yarn manufacturers could not capture the market due to low quality and high cost of production despite the huge difference in duty structure. We are of the opinion that instead of imposing RD, efforts should be made to increase effective productivity.’’

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They added that Cotton has been replaced by Yarn and the textile industry in Pakistan is mostly dependent on imported Yarn. We want to make it clear that if the government implements RD by considering Yarn as a wrongly manufactured item, it cannot be saved from destruction.