By Anzal Amin
ISLAMABAD: Taking notice of the buying of cotton below the price fixed by the government to support farmers, caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Sunday directed the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) to submit a report in this connection.
The government had fixed the price of cotton, but it was being observed that it was purchased from farmers below that minimum rate in some places, the PM Office Media Wing said in a news statement.
The interim premier noted that the yielding of a bumper cotton crop was a blessing for the country and its maximum profits should be reaped by the farmers.
He added that the government had issued clear instructions over its purchase price to protect the farmers against any losses,
In March this year, the then premier Shehbaz Sharif approved Rs8,500 per 40 kg (maund) as the support price of cotton to facilitate its farmers,
In August, the TCP decided to purchase one million bales of cotton following the fall in its prices in the open market below the intervention threshold.
It invited bids from cotton procurement agents, acquirement firms and labour contractors.
At that time, Cotton Ginners Forum Chairman Ihsanul Haq said the subsidised rates for electricity and gas to textile mills had been withdrawn on the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF pressure). Coupled with a record hike in production costs, an unusual decline was observed in cotton purchases by the textile mills.
Consequently, cotton prices slid from Rs9,500 to the range of between Rs7,500 to Rs8,000 per maund in the open market.
Last Wednesday, the government projected cotton production at 11.5 million bales from cultivation over an area of 2.4 million hectares this season, which shows a significant jump of 126.6% over the output of last year.
