Sanitary pads, diapers' raw material import not banned, Miftah Ismail clarifies

• Finance minister's statement comes in response to reports of sanitary pads market being hit by import ban.
• Says an official clarification will be issued on Monday.
• Govt recently imposed complete ban on non-essential items to deal with economic crisis.

ISLAMABAD: After reports surfaced of the sanitary pads' market being affected by the recent ban imposed on imported goods by the government, Miftah Ismail has clarified that there is "no ban on sanitary pads or diapers or the raw materials" used in their manufacture.

A report published by Dawn Images stated that the banned imported items may include the raw material used in manufacturing sanitary napkins and despite this essential item being manufactured inland, the manufacturers may stop production due to the unavailability of the raw material.

However, Miftah rubbished the news, saying there is no restriction on importing industrial raw materials or sanitary pads and diapers which are "obviously" essential goods. He also said that an official clarification will be made tomorrow (Monday)..

In a first, the government, on May 19, 2022, imposed a complete ban on non-essential items under an economic plan devised in a bid to take the country out of its financial turmoil.

Over 30 categories of luxury and non-essential items covered food items, decoration items, and luxury vehicles.

Dawn Images quoted the chief operating officer of Santex — one of the two Pakistani companies that manufacture sanitary napkins  — as saying that "two of the core raw materials that form the base of the napkins were imported."

He shared that the raw materials in question were sap paper and wadding cellulose fibre. These products fell under HS Code 4803.000 which, according to the Ministry of Commerce, were banned under the new import ban.

He said that sap paper and wadding cellulose fibre are basic raw materials used in the manufacturing of female sanitary napkins and they fall under HS Code 4803.000 which is banned according to the Ministry of Commerce.