The cotton growers have insisted the government of Pakistan for the provision of the level playing field to the local cotton growers in order to decrease the imports of cotton in the country, which is depressing for the cotton farmers in the country, overall.
The cotton growers said that billions of dollars are spent on a yearly basis on the import of cotton to meet the domestic requirements of the textile industry. They further added that the cotton imports into the country are increased by about 46%, while the exports decreased by 49% in the last fiscal year, that ended on 30th of June 2017.
They stressed on the need for taking necessary measures to check the import of cotton into the country to stabilize prices of the commodity in the local market and to benefit the lint farmers.
The growers also said that the cotton imports in the country increased by about 10% in the last fiscal year that recently ended. Talking to the media, the President Kissan Ithad Khalid Khokhar urged the government to take appropriate measures to safeguard the interest of local cotton growers.
He further demanded the reduction in the cost of production in order to compete with the international market and to encourage the farmers to grow more crops and enhance the production. He said that per 40 kg cost of production of local cotton was recorded at Rs 2,533 as compared with the prices of the commodity in the neighbouring country where it was recorded at Rs 1,076 per 40 kg.
He also placed an emphasis on the need for enhancing the research related budgets, improving the quality of seed and providing special incentives for the enhancing the production of cotton to its actual potential of 20 million bales.
Said was that the Ministry of Textile Industry would devise a comprehensive plan by taking all stakeholders including farmers, ginners and textile industry to reduce the imports of the cotton.
