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PSF prices raised Rs 4 a kg

MUZAFFAR QURESHI

KARACHI: The price of polyester staple fibre (PSF) has been increased by Rs. 4 per kg from Monday, February 21, 2000. The local manufacturers have attributed the sudden increase to raise in price of furnace oil locally and to the world oil price increase to 30 dollars per barrel.

With the latest increase, the price for semi-dull staple fibre will be Rs. 60 instead of the present Rs. 56. Accordingly, the prices of bright fibre will be Rs. 62 and for bright trilobal will be Rs. 64 per kg.

Local PSF-makers had reduced their price by Rs. 3 per kg on January 19. But now they have increased price by Rs. 4 per kg which is one rupee higher than the last month's decrease.

The exporters of value-added textile products have strongly criticised the abrupt price increase which is "quite big in one go". They maintained that normally in the past local manufacturers used to increase the fibre price by Re. 1 per kg to Rs. 2 per kg.

They said that the substantial increase in polyester fibre price will be a big blow to the already crippled textile ancillary industry already suffering from high price of cotton yarn.

M. Iqbal Mangrani, Chairman, Pakistan Cloth Merchants Association (PCMA), Southern Zone said in a statement that increase in the PSF price would mean that in addition to 100 percent increase in cotton yarn, prices of polyester cotton blended yarn and cloth would also increase sharply and export of value-added products would be adversely affected beyond imagination and Pakistan would hardly meet its export target of eight billion dollars.

He said that normally prices of PSF were increased or decreased in the beginning of a month, but now it was the sweet will of the manufacturers to add or reduce the price. This is because the local PSF industry is still enjoying massive tariff protection from the government, he added.

Suggesting a remedy, the PCMA zonal chief said that the Government should immediately put restriction on the export of cotton yarn and also withdraw duty on raw cotton so that high quality cotton could be imported and ancillary industry could get their raw material at reasonable price.

Mangrani also demanded of the government to reduce duty on import of polyester staple fibre and import duty on viscose staple fibre should also be cut to five percent, which is not manufactured locally and can be a substitute of cotton and polyester.