RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: Chairman of Pakistan Yarn Merchants Association (PYMA), (Sindh Balochistan Zone), Danish Hanif has urged the government to adopt remedial measures to save the sinking polyester filament fabric industry without delay.

“Custom duty on polyester filament yarns (P-FDY and P-DTY) chapter 54 should be reduced from 12% to 7%,” he demanded in a SOS message to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Commerce Minister Engr Khurram Dastgir Khan and Special Assistant to Prime Minister for Revenue Haroon Akhter.

The PYMA chairman drew attention of the government towards sinking polyester filament fabric yarn industry saying that around 300,000 looms and knitting machines have suspended operations during the last five years that directly and indirectly affected around 5 million people.

“Inefficient and outdated domestic polyester filament yarn industry does not fulfill even 25% of the total demand of Pakistan,” he said, adding that there was 12% duty on polyester yarn (PFY) as compared to 7% on the polyester fiber whereas the raw material and the quantity input to produce the both are exactly same.

He said polyester fiber is consumed by corporate sector while polyester yarn by SME sector. In addition, local PSF production is enough to meet Pakistan’s requirement whereas production of polyester yarn is only 25% of the required quantity of Pakistan but it is strange that import duty on PFY was 12% as compared to 7% on polyester fiber was 7%.

Danish Hanif said that ongoing anti-dumping investigation on polyester filament yarn (PFDY/PDTY) which is basic raw material for the polyester fabric is totally unjustified.

“The user industry will be unnecessarily penalized for those products which are not produced by the domestic industry,” he said, adding that the cost for the end user would increase substantially and that would affect the weaving and knitting industry.

He said that the domestic producers of polyester filament Yarn are also lobbying to impose regulatory duty (RD), on the imported polyester filament yarn, which would be tantamount to the last nail in the coffin of entire weaving and knitting industry.

PYMA chairman said that polyester industry also requires same importance begin given to cotton industry because use of polyester has surpassed cotton by many-folds in the world thus increasing the share in exports of polyester-based fabric around the world. He said it is a known fact that no country could progress unless due importance is given to the SME sector as it contributes heavily to the GDP of any country.