The government has issued a statutory regulatory order (SRO) granting permission to import cotton with zero duty thus providing the much awaited relief to the textile industry. As Ejaz Gohar, a textile industrialist points out the FBR has issued the required SRO at last and the unscrupulous elements in the government backed with cotton hoarders have been defeated, but they managed non-implementation of the decision taken by the federal cabinet and ECC for 21 days. The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) on January 5 approved zero rating of import of cotton and if the decision was implemented at that time, 21 days would not have been wasted.

Pakistan produced 11.5 million bales with 150kg weight each which is equal to 10 million bales with weight of 170kg each. Thus, the country had missed the three million bales which the government permitted on January 5 for import but it took the long period of 21 days on account of influential black marketers. The use of one million cotton bales results in exports of $1 billion. The SRO notification is not time bound and under this industry can import 3 million cotton bales leading to $3 billion exports.

Adviser to All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) Shahid Sattar feels black marketers influenced the government after the ECC decision and made the textile industry hostage for 21 days. He regretted in Pakistan middleman gets 45 per cent price of cotton and farmers have only 55 per cent share in the cotton price whereas in the other cotton growing countries of the world, middleman gets only 12 per cent and farmers community has 88 per cent share in cotton prices.