KARACHI, Dec 13: Textile exporters will add 150 million euro (about $140m) to the national exchequer from January next year as a result of duty-free imports from Pakistan by the European Union.

Calculated on the basis of removal of 7 per cent import tariff, the net rise in forex savings will be 150 million euro on the total annual export of 2.3 billion euro to the EU member states, textile sources said.

The free access of exportable products, notably textiles, to EU was followed by a positive role played by Pakistan as a front-line state in US-coalition war on terrorism.

“The scrapping of duties will make exports to EU more competitive,” spinners said adding “it will give needed push to export in the post-Sept 11 trade losses.”

The local exporters are eagerly awaiting for the EU decision on the proposed 15 per cent increase in the textile import quota which will turn the local industry into a hub of activity.

According to the latest export figures, exports registered 6 per cent decline to $710 million in November 2001, against last year’s exports of $754 million.

The textile exports in November 2001, also registered a steep fall of 7.49 per cent at $420 million compared to last year’s export of $454 million in the same period.

The textile sector, which had been eagerly looking forward to lifting of quota restrictions and tariff reduction by the US, is presently under a tremendous pressure owing to detention of textile goods worth millions of dollars by the US Customs.

The stiff resistance given by the US textile manufacturers against lifting of quotas and reduction in tariff on imports from Pakistan has dampened the hopes of getting any extra benefit from the US government, the chairman Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers Association, Mohammad Kamran Chandna said.

“Pakistan has lost a great opportunity of getting greater access to the US market and this is only because our negotiators did not play their cards well in order to pull the situation in our advantage,” he further said.

The vice chairman Pakistan Knitwear Exporters Association Anis Marfani said it seems “our economic leaders could not encash the situation, which emerged after Sept 11.”

He said the country on the contrary had to suffer heavily on account of war risk premium and cancellation of orders as well as consumers’ resistance against Pakistani brand names.

There is a general demand from exporters that the government should immediately take up the current issues confronting country’s external trade at the diplomatic and political level in order to make up for the losses suffered on account of being a front line state in war against terrorism.