ISLAMABAD – The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Pakistan and China hasdented India’s cotton yarn exports after Indian cotton exports declined bya massive 38.8 percent during the first six months of the current fiscalyear that ended in September 2019.
According to a report in *Deccan Herald*, cotton yarn exports between Apriland September this year were recorded at 422 million kgs, valued at $1.27billion as compared to 654 million kgs valued at $2.08 billion recorded inthe same period last year.
The report states that the FTA between China and Pakistan has been themajor factor behind India’s cotton yarn decline, as India cotton yarnexports to China dropped after the second phase of China-Pakistan FTA cameinto effect. The FTA was signed in April on goods worth $64 billion thatmostly pertained to textile products including cotton yarn.
K V Srinivasan, Chairman of the Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Councilinformed that there is an import duty ranging from 3.5pc to 5pc on cottonyarns imported from India into major markets like China, EU, Turkey andSouth Korea as against imports from competing countries like Pakistan thatenjoys zero percent import duty in these markets.
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Under the new FTA, China would open up 90 percent of its market forPakistani goods whereas Pakistan would share 65pc of its market withChinese exports.
