Finance Minister Miftah Islamail has clarified there is no import ban on sanitary pads or their raw materials.
“There is no ban on any industrial raw material. The ban is only on some luxury or non-essential goods. And there is certainly no ban on sanitary pads or diapers (or their raw materials), which are obviously essential goods. We will issue further official clarification on Monday.”
Head of the Prime Minister’s Strategic Reforms, Salman Sufi, tweeted that the news circulating regarding ban on saintry pads is “absolutely incorrect”.
“Women’s health is of paramount importance and shall never be compromised,” said Sufi.
It was reported earlier that government has added raw materials for sanitary napkins to the list of non-essential luxury items in its recent import ban, which will affect the production of pads in Pakistan.
A major chunk of sanitary napkins is produced by two companies in Pakistan — P&G and Santex, which make Always and Butterfly respectively. The production of sanitary napkins of one of these brands has been majorly affected, reports Dawn.
“Though all of our products are produced in Pakistan, two of the core raw materials that form the base of the napkin are imported. The ban would mean the factory would have to shut down eventually because we can’t manufacture them anymore after the current supply runs out,” said Muhammad Kamran, Chief Operating Officer of Santex while talking to Dawn.
The main components in question, he explained, are sap paper and wadding cellulose fibre. These items are classified as HS Code 4803.000, which is prohibited under the new import ban according to the Ministry of Commerce.
“[These] are basic raw materials utilised in the manufacturing of female sanitary napkins. These items are neither tissues nor luxury but are included in S.No 63 of the SRO,” he added.
“We’ve sent an application to the Ministry of Commerce that will take 15 to 20 days to review. We’re hoping for a positive response.”
Read more- Govt bans import of ‘luxury items’ to fight economic crisis
On May 19, 2022, the federal cabinet issued a list of 41 items, which will be banned from being imported for two months. This is in an attempt to address the current account deficit.
