Pakistan’s yarn imports under EFS rise 350%, threaten spinning mills: KPTMA

Chairman of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Textile Mills Association (KPTMA), Sikandar Kuli Khan Khattak, has raised serious alarm over the 350 per cent rise in yarn imports under the Export Facilitation Scheme (EFS), calling it a grave threat to Pakistan’s domestic spinning sector, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Yarn imports both cotton and man-made fibre have rise from 7,800 metric tons in January 2024 to 28,306 metric tons in February 2025, accounting for over 30 per cent of local spinning capacity. Khattak warned the influx of subsidised yarn has forced more than 40 per cent of spinning mills to shut down, while others have slashed output by up to 40 per cent. Mills in the landlocked province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are particularly hard hit, grappling with high logistics costs and deepening liquidity challenges.

He also criticised the widespread misuse of the EFS, which was intended to support exports but is instead enabling cheap imports to penetrate the domestic market. This malpractice not only undermines local producers but also leads to tax evasion and revenue losses for the government. The crisis is now putting thousands of jobs and the future of Pakistan’s spinning industry at risk.