Pakistan has rejected a consignment of 10,000 bales of Indian cotton worth $3.3 million (over Rs 22 crore) which would be returned to India from the Karachi Port, the media reported on Wednesday.
The shipment of ginned cotton at Karachi Port was rejected by the Ministry of National Food Security and Research Department of Plant Protection as it was imported in violation of the country's Plant Quarantine rules, Dawn online reported.
The rejection has sent shock waves in Pakistan’s textile industry which has been striving for permission to import cotton from India.
Last year, 2.7 million bales of cotton was imported from India to make up for the shortfall after crop failure.
According to officials, the private sector has imported around 1.2 million bales of cotton from various countries. Orders for around 0.3 million bales of Indian cotton have been placed.
According to the textile industry, the cotton imported from countries other than India was cleared by the customs authorities without any issue.
A senior official from All Pakistan Textile Mills Association criticised the government policy of not allowing cotton imports from India.
"The industry needs around four million bales of imported cotton this year to meet the supply shortfalls," he said.
As the tensions between the two countries along the LoC rose last month, Pakistan had suspended the import of cotton and other agriculture commodities, including vegetables, from India.
Pakistan had imported 2.7 million bales of cotton (1 bale is 170 kgs) - about 40 per cent of India's total cotton exports in 2015-16--due to crop failure that wiped off 0.5 per cent of GDP growth. The industry is expecting to import two million bales this year.
Pakistan expects to produce around 10.05 million bales of cotton this year against an estimated demand of 15 million bales.
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