Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) has strongly demanded that regulatory duty, sales tax and customs duty on the import of cotton from India should not be waived off and it must continue for the survival of local farmers as well as ginners.

The PCGA Chairman Nawab Shehzad Ali Khan said that Cotton economy was passing through the worst crisis of the history and they should avoid to benefit any stake holder at the cost of national economy and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif should take notice of such proposals personally.

He warned that if the tax and duty was waived on the import of cotton from India then it would be detrimental to local growers and ginners whose 1.5 million bales are lying in unsold stock besides deprivation the government of millions of rupees of taxes. However it would be in the benefit of Indian farmers, ginners and importers.

Shehzad Ali Khan suggested that Government should wait till the disposal even a single bale of cotton lying in ginneries or standing in field.

Pakistan that witnessed increase in cotton imports mainly came from India that has been a major beneficiary of duty-free import of cotton yarn by Pakistan for about four years, which has badly hit the domestic industry and agricultural sector of the country under a well planned conspiracy.

India was provided huge subsidies in the form of duty drawback, interest rate concessions and infrastructure schemes for its cotton industry.

The exemption from customs duty, regularly duty and sales tax may hit the domestic industry hard as it drove down demand for local cotton and pushed lower prices paid to farmers. There would be a huge loss of cash crop if the farmers adopted other crops.