Textile mills in Pakistan want a 15 per cent regulatory duty on the import of manmade fibers, particularly polyester viscose yarn, polyester cotton yarn and pure polyester yarn. The industry sees the surge in imports of manmade fibers as a matter of serious concern. It feels an unchecked import of yarns has hit the viability of the domestic spinning yarn industry, which is also threatening the survival of domestic polyester staple fiber producers and the purified terephthalic industry by and large.

So the 15 per cent regulatory duty is expected to stop the inroads of subsidised yarns into the domestic market. Pakistan’s imports of manmade fiber yarn for domestic consumption have increased by four times in the last four years and are likely to reach 57,000 tons per annum by the end of 2015-16.

Pakistan’s textile mix is 80 per cent cotton versus 20 per cent manmade, compared to the global trend, which is closer to 70 per cent manmade fibers and 30 per cent cotton.

Textile mills feel lowering the import duty on polyester staple fiber to zero will help the country enter new products and markets. Pakistan has an opportunity to export synthetic based textile products under GSP Plus.