Fiscal year 2011-12: Govt likely to export 0.8mn cotton bales

ASMA RAZAQ

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is likely to export 8 lakh cotton bales in the fiscal year 2011-12 that would add up to Rs 20 billion in the national exchequer, while the country is expecting to import one million cotton bales, including 4-5 lac long-staple cotton bales.

Sources told Business Recorder here on Wednesday that Pakistan had exported 5 lakh cotton bales so far and had earned Rs 12 billion. "The international price of cotton is 83-85 cents /lb while in the domestic market, it is being sold at 70-72 cents/lb".

Sources revealed that a delegation consisted of four members of the Pakistan Cotton Ginners' Association (PCGA) has met with Prime Minister, Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on December 20 and discussed issues related to the comparatively lower prices of cotton in the domestic market, which was nothing, but the exploitation of the poor cotton growers by the textile mill owners. "The prime minister has directed the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) to purchase one million cotton bales to save the growers from further loss but TCP requires at least one month to finalise the procedure in this regard. However, its purchase after a month would give no benefit to the poor growers. Almost 70 percent cotton crop has already reached the ginning factories and after one month, this quantity would increase to 90 percent. It is unfortunately that poor cotton grower to face the loss," sources added.

According to the recent cotton arrival report, 11.036 million cotton bales have arrived in the ginning factories that are 18 percent more than that of the last fiscal year 2010-11, which was 9.37 million.

The report shows that the arrival of the cotton bales from Punjab was 8.75 million bales that are 44.5 percent more than that of the last year's 6.05 million bales. In the ginning factories of Balochistan, the arrival of the cotton bales till December 15 has been recorded 42 thousands, while in Sindh it was remained 2.27 million, i.e., 31.3 percent less than the last year's 3.321 million bales.

The reduction in arrival of the cotton bales in the ginning factories of Sindh is mainly due to the recent floods in the province that has destroyed 2.2 million cotton bales.

Sources said that to reschedule their loans taken for the payments to the cotton growers and to waive-off the mark-up against these loans, the Cotton Ginners' Association (PCGA) has written letters to the Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Yaseen Anwer twice, but no step has been taken in this regard so far. "The ginners have lost their billions of rupees due to the recent floods in the Sindh province and are still waiting a reply from the SBP in this regard," sources lamented.