Cotton crop adequate to meet textile demand

KARACHI: Despite 80 percent loss of cotton crop in Sindh because of the recent torrential rains, 12.5 billion cotton bales are expected this year, with ten billion bales from Punjab and 2.5 billion bales from Sindh.

This stock would be sufficient to meet the demand of textile industry of the country till next cotton crop yield comes, said Federal Minister for Textile Makhdoom Shahabuddin here on Friday.

“Thank God, Punjab has a bumper cotton crop this year to compensate the cotton loss in Sindh," the Minister remarked while speaking at a meeting with the Chairman, Value Adding Textile Associations, at Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PHMA) House.

Secretary Textile Ministry Said Rushed seconded the Minister's remarks and informed the meeting that in Punjab, this year cotton crop is very much safe from all kind of virus which over a last couple of years used to damage the crop very badly.

He said that before the rains-flood, 15 billion bales of cotton were expected from Sindh and Punjab.

"We would have a good stock of cotton", he said, however up to 1.5 billion cotton bales might need to be imported to strengthen the availability position of this basic raw material for our textile industry.

The Textile Minister assured the textile industrialists and exporters that he along with his team of the Ministry would make the best efforts to resolve or get resolved the problems facing textile industry especially the release of refund amount to value-adding textile sector on account of Drawback of Local Taxes and Levies.

He said that he would also take up the issue of Export Development Fund amount, meant to be used for uplift of textile industry, with the concerned Government authorities including Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

The textile exporters have been contributing to EDF at the rate of 0.25 percent of their exports.

This fund is supposed to be spent on lobbying for free market access for Pakistani goods to new potential international markets.

He said that he would try to find time with the Prime Minister for a detailed working session and seek his kind support in getting resolved their problems especially the release of refunds of their claims.

Besides a group of representatives from value-adding textile sector, he would request the Federal Finance Minister and the Finance Secretary to attend the meeting to make it meaningful.

“I will call you on next Tuesday (Oct.11) and communicate the schedule of meeting with the Prime Minister," he said with assurance that he would extend all out support to textile industry for resolution of its problems.

The Textile Secretary informed the textile leaders that Rs7.5 billion had been allocated for refund of Local Taxes and Levies during this financial year.

We had demanded the release of Rs3 billion for the first two quarters of 2011-12. But, he said, only Rs1 billion has been released from the Ministry of Finance. However, he had been pursuing the Secretary Finance to release Rs3 billion.

“Hopefully, we will get Rs3 billion," he assured adding that a meeting in this regard is scheduled on 12th of this month.

He said that in last two fiscal years, Rs17.25 billion were disbursed on this account.

When Chief Coordinator Council of Textile Associations and Chairman Pakistan Apparel Forum Muhammad Jawed Biplane demanded special tariffs for the value-adding textile sector like for the fertilizers sector, the Textile Minister assured that he had already talked to Federal Minister for Water and Power on rationalization of tariffs of gas, electricity and water to textile industry.

Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2011