He was addressing a press conference at the conclusion of a day-long Pakistan Cotton Consultative Conference organized by the Ministry of Textile Industry with an aim to take recommendations and proposals from the stakeholders for the promotion of textile sector.
The minister was flanked by Secretary Textile Industry, Rukhsana Shah, Cotton Commissioner, Dr. Khalid Abdullah and other officials of the ministry.
Afridi said that the country's cotton output is expected at 12.5 million bales this year which would go up to 15 million bales during next year as government has taken comprehensive steps for the promotion of this sector.
He said that government would sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Chinese company under which new cotton seed would be tested through which the cotton crop is expected to increase by 30 percent.
The minister said that the government was all set to announce its textile policy after the end of this month, when the previous textile policy completes its period.
He said that as compared to the allocations of Rs188 billion to the last textile policy, Rs 88 billion have been fixed for the upcoming policy, adding that even if the allocations have been decreased by over Rs100 billion, the stakeholders have been appreciating it due to its comprehensiveness and inclusiveness.
The minister said that coordinated efforts are being made with the support of various ministries to promote the textile industry for boosting the exports for earning foreign exchange.
He assured the participants of the conference that their recommendations and proposals would not be rejected, but would be considered through proper mechanism and could be incorporated in the policy document.
To a question, he said that the ministry would introduce a bill in the next session of the parliament that would help address the issues like provision of certified cotton seeds to farmers.
The minister said that the government was focussing on local investors and has been encouraging them to invest in the country.
He expressed the hope that the investors who had made investment outside Pakistan in textile sector including in Bangladesh, would return to the country in six to eight months due to the incentives provided by the government in this sector.
To a question he said that the price of tractor would go down as its sales tax on tractors has been reduced from 15 percent to 10 percent.