Pakistan has allowed the import of cotton from Afghanistan/ Central Asian states via the land route. The objective is to bridge the demand and supply gap in the textile sector. The textile industry of Pakistan consumes around 12 to 15 million bales of cotton per annum.

The cotton imports will be subject to all sanitary and phytosanitary regulations. A permanent quarantine facility will be set up for cotton imported through the land route. Cotton is a sensitive crop. It attracts a variety of pests and a fumigation process is a must to counter such threats.

Meanwhile Pakistan will withdraw sales tax and customs duty on imports of cotton. This is to encourage value addition, reduce the cost of doing business and bridge the gap between production and consumption.

Pakistan has been a net cotton importer since 2001. The country produces short to medium staple length cotton which implies that long and extra long staple cotton has to be imported for production of finer yarn counts for subsequent transformation into high value added finished products. Import of cotton remained duty free till zero per cent slab was abolished in 2014-15 and customs duty of one per cent was imposed along with a five per cent sales tax.