Caretaker Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi, who met PM Kakar to discuss the cotton issue, has urged cotton farmers to resist selling their crops below the intervention price. He noted that cotton prices in the province had plummeted way beyond the official support price.
The PM held a meeting with Punjab and Sindh chief ministers on Sunday and directed them to take action against those deceiving cotton growers. During the meeting held at PM Office, they discussed matters related to the province.
While pointing out that the federal government had been requested to immediately direct the TCP to start buying cotton from the market to help stabilise its prices, CM Naqvi asked cotton growers not to sell their crop below the officially announced intervention price.
Naqvi said he and caretaker CM of Sindh Maqbool Baqir in a meeting PM Kakar told him that Phutti (raw Cotton) price in Punjab had come down to Rs6,500 per 40kg against the official rate of Rs8,500 promised by the federal government at the start of sowing season.
The caretaker government has called for strict enforcement of the cotton support prices set earlier this year, with Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Sunday ordering action against those exploiting the situation and buying Phutti below the predetermined rate of Rs8,500 per 40kg.
Naqvi said PM has taken prompt notice and sought a report from the Trading Corporation of Pakistan. It is greatly hoped that the TCP will start purchasing cotton, he said, insisting that cotton rates would rise and the farmers would be rewarded for their labour.
CM Punjab requested farmers not to sell their raw cotton at lower prices, as both Punjab and Sindh governments were trying to ensure that growers get the promised rate of Rs8500 per 40kg. He said growers should hold back their produce and not let cotton prices go down. “The government is standing with them and will continue to support them,” he said.
