Pakistan Carpet Producers Demand Rebate on Exports
Lahore, Pakistan, May 17--Pakistan Carpet Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PCMEA) has demanded that the government allow 6. 5 per cent duty draw back/rebate on carpet exports to help stall continuous declines in this sector.
In a statement issued here Thursday, PCMEA Vice Chairman Maj (Retd) Akhtar Nazir Khan said drastic reduction in duty draw back had adversely affected the exports of this primary product.
As a result, he said, carpet exports had been registering negative growth in terms of foreign exchange earning. He said exporters of hand-knotted carpets were in a severe competition with China, India and Nepal. "Our competitors have advantage of cheap labour besides the rebate being provided to them by their respective governments," he maintained. The exporters of India, he claimed, are being paid 8 per cent duty draw back on woolen carpets and 10 per cent on silk carpets.
The Chinese exporters are also being paid heavy subsidies by their government with a view to increasing carpet export. Akhtar Nazir said that Pakistani carpet exporters were facing substantive disadvantage in competing with the price at which Indian and Chinese exporters could sell their carpets in the world market.
He also pointed out that carpet and textile exports of Pakistan were grouped together under the group of commodities, 'Textile'. He observed that carpet exporters were being paid only 0.25 per cent rebate against 6.5 per incentive being given to textile exporters, which is totally unjustified. He recalled that duty draw back was reduced to 4.60 per cent from 8. 96 per cent in a short span of one year, June 2001 to June 2002 and was further reduced to 0. 25 per cent from July 2002.
Akhtar Nazir Khan said unjustified reduction in duty draw back, decline in dollar rate, high inflation rate and steady increase in mark up rate by State Bank of Pakistan inflicted serious damage to growth of hand-knotted carpet export. He demanded of the authority to immediately intervene in the matter and take steps for making future of carpet export bright.
He said incentives to carpet industry would benefit hundreds of thousands of weavers involved in carpet manufacturing, which is the largest cottage industry of the country.
