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By APD writer Muhammad Sohail
The government of Pakistan has refused to allow a South Korean company to import raw material from India amid its tense bilateral relations with its eastern neighbor, local media reported Friday while quoting official sources.
The Lotte Chemical Pakistan Limited, a subsidiary of a South Korean company Lotte Chemical Corporation, approached Pakistan’s ministry of commerce to get permission to import raw material from India.
The Lotte Chemical Pakistan, whose 75 percent shares are held by the South Korean investment, wanted to import 40,000 tons of paraxylene from India, which is a raw material for manufacturing pure terephthalic acid (PTA).
Para xylene raw material is not produced in Pakistan and it is always imported from other countries. Companies like to import different chemicals from neighboring India due to cheap costs, but the government is not ready to permit due to standoff between the two archrivals who have fight three-four wars.
Lotte Chemical is the only manufacturer and supplier of the PTA in Pakistan with its annual production of 506,000 tons.
The PTA is used by textile for the manufacturing of polyester staple fiber and polyester filament yarn as well as packaging and bottling industries.
A source in the ministry said that Lotte Chemical Pakistan managed to convince a close aid of Prime Minister Imran Khan to submit a fresh summary to the prime minister, but the latter refused to approve it and said the federal cabinet would decide it. Later on, the cabinet also refused to give go-ahead on the issue saying that there are several other options available from where the chemical can be imported.
India and Pakistan are facing deteriorating relations since the beginning of last year after a suicide attack at Indian forces in the Indian-controlled Kashmir, which was blamed on non-state actor in Pakistan. Despite Pakistan rejected Indian allegations saying that there are no militant hideouts. Later, Indian fighter jets entered into Pakistani airspace, but Pakistani fighter jets shot two of them down over the region of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. Pakistan also arrested an Indian pilot of one of the destroyed plane, but he was handed over to Indian few days later.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
