Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) has said that Aptma & KCA have no right to demand for imposition of ban on export of raw cotton at the cost of growers as well ginners interest when they have established their cartel to fleece the growers.
Chairman of PCGA, Amanullah Qureshi said cotton rate in international market has surged to Rs 7100 to 7200 per maund but local textile millers were purchasing the cotton at unfair price of Rs 5500 to 6000. He also opposed the suggestion that around 15 percent duty should be levied on export of raw cotton and coarse yarn. He suggested that Government should fix support of raw cotton (phutti) at Rs 3000/ maund and Ginned cotton at Rs 7000 per/maund otherwise farmers would not sow the cotton in next season and they would be forced to opt the alternate crops then textile sector would have to import cotton by spending billions of dollars.
He said that Ministry of textiles was reluctant to implement the Prime Minister's orders for the procurement of cotton through Trading Corporation of Pakistan. He said that Bureaucracy and some agents of textile sectors want to benefit APTMA at the cost of ginners. This was not at all a pragmatic approach to side the handful people and it appears the government is playing into the hands of people in the textile sector and ignoring the largest cotton growing sector for which disaster looms nearest.
He said that cotton growers had already incurred a loss of Rs 24 billion @ Rs 400 per maund in phutti. Thre would have been a different situation had the government entered as second player for stabilising the prices in local market. He further said that Ministry of Finance did not release the amount to the TCP for the purchase of cotton.