Adeeb Iqbal, Vice Chairman, PRGMEA has urged the government to also abolish duties on the import of fabrics as well as the denim fabric in line with the import relaxation provided on import of cotton yarn, as value-added garment sector is facing severe shortage of basic raw material of fabrics, which may lead to a drastic decline in value-added textile export.

Iqbal said that the garment industry has received a huge number of export orders, however, exporters are unable to finalize them due to unavailability of fabric, especially the denim fabric in the country.

Iqbal said the removal Regulatory Duty on import of cotton yarn will accelerate the country’s textile exports. He called for steps for the removal of hurdles hindering exports of garment sector. According to him, non-availability of latest fabric locally hinders product development by the garment sector for export market, adding that foreign buyers were demanding new garments on G3, G4 and technical fabric raw material which are neither available nor produced by Pakistani weavers.