Govt should purchase 2.5mn bales through TCP: PCGA

RECORDER REPORT

MULTAN: Government should intervene to save cotton growers and ginners from financial losses and it should purchase 2 or 2.5 million bales through Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) because 3.4 million bales are excessive of local consumption, said Amanullah Qureshi Chairman, Haji Mukhtar Ahmed Baloch Vice Chairman (North) and Haji Muhammad Akram Ex-Chairman of Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA), while addressing a hurriedly called press conference here on Sunday.

They said that they would be forced to stop the procurement of 'Phutti' (Raw Cotton) or minimise the purchase according to its flow if government did not come forward for their help. This decision would be taken in the meeting of General Body with the consensus of the house because ginners cannot afford more financial losses. He suggested that government should convene a meeting of growers, ginners and textile millers to fix the support price of cotton keeping in view the cost of production and TCP should purchase maximum quantity of cotton for export and earn precious foreign exchange. Amanullah Qureshi said that Pakistan can earn 50 billion dollars by exporting 2 to 2.5 million bales, which would strengthen our economy as well as our foreign exchange reserves. He warned that growers would not cultivate cotton in next season if their interests were not protected today and they were left at the mercy of Beoparis and Textile millers who had created their cartel to keep the cotton prices at the lowest ebb. He said that Pakistan was earning its 56 percent foreign exchange through textile products and its raw material (Phutti) was produced by our farmers. Pakistan would lose its export-oriented industry if farmers opted alternate crops. Haji Muhammad Akram told newsmen that Pakistan would produce 15 million bales of cotton this year against the last year's production of 11.6 million bales, of them only 11 million bales were purchased by the Textile Mills. It means our local consumption is not more than 11 or 12 million bales. Now we have 3.4 million bales surplus, which must be exported to other countries like China, Turkey, Bangladesh etc.

PCGA chairman said that cotton growers of Southern Punjab were badly hit last year when flood devastated their crop, now Almighty Allah had provided a chance to compensate them by providing them fair returns of their produce.