June edition 2004 Highlights of the Newsletter Textile Exports Future Bleak Textile Products worth $636.4m Exported Exporters to Get New Incentives in Budget: DTRE Scheme Being Revamped Govt Allocates Fund for Cotton Development All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) Event List Pakistan to Get Additional Textile Quota EU Agrees To Review Duty on Bed linen EPB to Promote Pak Products in World Markets Yarn Prices Increase By 20%-25% Americans Have $1 Billion Investment In Pakistan Textile Quota To EU Will Rise 15%

Textile exports future bleak Pakistan's textile exports face a bleak prospect in the coming years unless the government adopts focused measures to address the concerns relating to environment and updating of technology. While sounding this caution, Dr Abdul Hayee Qureshi, a scientist at the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council told a seminar, organized by the Scientists' Club here on Saturday that the expectations with which developing countries like Pakistan had signed the WTO agreements might not be fulfilled after the final termination in 2005 of Multifibre Agreement (MFA). The subsequent dark scenario was already portended by the conduct of the developed countries. The Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC), it was scheduled to replace the MFA in four stages over a 10-year period. But those countries had acted on it in such a manner that the categories of items whose exports might have benefited the developing countries were left out almost completely, Dr Qureshi observed. Once MFA was out of the way, he said, the developed countries might try to impose a myriad restrictions in the name of environment, labour standards, child labour, human rights, eco- labeling etc. In this regard, he noted that Pakistan still lacked accreditation laboratories in this regard. Dr Qureshi expressed his particular concern over the havoc played by indiscriminate application of pesticides which had already poisoned our environment to the point where many species of beneficial organisms and birds had been wiped out almost completely.

Textile Products worth $636.4m Exported Textile products worth $636.442 million have been exported so far in the current fiscal year from Faisalabad Dry port, which is $64.959 million above the amount earned in the corresponding period last year. Textile goods constitute around 98 percent of the total exports from Faisalabad, the main hub of textile production in the region. Collector Customs, Faisalabad and Sargodha divisions, Hafiz Muhammad Anees told on Monday that arrangements have been made at the dry port for inspection of export goods and their early clearance for their destination. Textile items exported from Faisalabad include yarn and fabrics of international standard in cotton, blended man-made fabrics, grey, dyed and printed bed sheets, curtains, garments and hosiery products. He said the system of inspection and evaluation of goods has been streamlined with the co- operation of the business community. About duty drawback claims during the first ten months this fiscal, the Collector said that a sum of Rs 1.362 billion has so far been sanctioned to 15,274 claimants by March 20, while 1551 claims valued at Rs 160.669 million are pending, which will be cleared soon after completion of formalities. Featured Site for Review Review This Web Site Submit Your Web Site

Exporters to get new incentives in budget: DTRE scheme being revamped
ISLAMABAD (June 08 2004): The Central Board of Revenue (CBR) will give new incentives to the Exporters under the revamped Duty and Tax Remission for Export (DTRE) Rules to be announced in the budget.
Sources told Business Recorder here on Monday that the CBR has given final touches to the revised DTRE rules taking into account the recommendations of all stakeholders. All necessary DTRE clarifications issued from time to time would be incorporated in the revised rules, they said.
The CBR is also examining a budget proposal to simplify the name of the DTRE scheme, which is presently very lengthy and complex.
To facilitate domestic suppliers of raw materials/inputs dealing with Exporters registered under the DTRE scheme, the CBR will set up exclusive counters in the Collectorates of Sales Tax for handling sales tax related issues.
The CBR is also developing software for electronic filing of declarations/statements by the Exporters under DTRE scheme from next year.
The CBR is working on all formats computer compatible in the forthcoming budget facilitating electronic filing of statements under DTRE scheme.

PAKISTAN TO GET ADDITIONAL TEXTILE QUOTA
Pakistan will get additional quantity of textile quota from the European Union after the induction of 10 new member states on May 1, 2004. This quota will be enhanced on the basis of past performance of Pakistani exporters to 10 new states in the last three years from 2001 to 2003.
These new states are the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Lithuania, Latvia, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia.

In this regard, the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) has asked those Pakistani exporters who had been exporting textiles and clothing to 10 new member states of EU during 2001 and 2003. This data will be used for claiming enhancement of Pakistani quota in the enlarged textile quota from the European Union.
The EPB will make allotments on the basis of these documents to the exporters of these new states.