LAHORE – The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) Chairman Gohar Ejaz has blamed the Indian government for hurting the spirit of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), and claimed that the Indians have distorted the principle of free market mechanism on cotton trade.
He said that the condition of cotton export registration, imposed by the Indian government, has allowed Indian cotton merchants wriggle out of contracts worth one million cotton bales to Pakistan, tantamount to a distortion in regional trade. The ban of cotton export appears an imprudent decision as India is currently carrying a surplus of 5.5 million cotton bales, he added.
He said that denial by Indian merchants to ship cotton to Pakistan following the Indian government’s intervention to free market mechanism is not less than an engineered default. Dubious quota allocations to irrelevant persons, as reported in the Indian press, have also hurt financial interests of Indian cotton farmers. Gohar feared that delay in shipment of cotton to Pakistan would have far reaching impacts on regional trade.
He said that Indian policymakers are trying to bail out Indian cotton merchants, who had contracted deals with Pakistani importers on low price. APTMA chairman said that SAARC objectives clearly state that the member states would work to accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region. He lamented that the latest distortion to free market mechanism suggests that India is not serious about honouring the SAARC spirit.
Gohar Ejaz said that the Indian merchants should honour cotton deals with Pakistani exporters and the Indian government should ensure immediate shipment of cotton to Pakistan in the larger interest of bilateral trade between the two neighbouring countries.
