Proposed MFN status to
India: Ginners express reservation
NOVEMBER
05, 2011: The Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA)
leadership expressed its reservations on granting the status
of 'most favoured nation' to India, describing it
detrimental to Pakistan's cotton growers and ginners and
said that the Parliament should reject this decision of the
Cabinet because it would ruin the industry.
Addressing a joint press conference here on Thursday PCGA
chairman Amanullah Qureshi, Kishan Chand Kohistani vice
chairman south, Saeed Ahmed ex-chairman, Muhammad Azam
member CEC said that cost of production (either agricultural
or industrial sector) in India is lower than Pakistan.
They said that Indian goods and agricultural produce would
be imported by different sectors to earn maximum profit and
textile millers would prefer Indian cotton on local cotton
to run their mills.
Kishan Chand told newsmen that a delegation of PCGA South
Zone called on President Asif Ali Zardari and apprised him
of their grievances.
"We informed him that 175 out of total 250 ginning factories
were badly hit in recent floods and rains in interior of
Sindh.
Banks had withdrawn the debt limits and Beoparis/ textile
millers were purchasing seed-cotton at Rs 2200 to Rs 3000
per 40 kg declaring it substandard or low quality lint.
He said that President Asif Zardari listened to them
patiently and assured that he would issue instruction to
State Bank of Pakistan for special rebate for the ginners of
flood hit areas.
He said that neither the President issued instructions in
this regard nor a bailout package was announced for them.
He suggested that the government should procure cotton from
Sindh on top-priority basis through Trading Corporation of
Pakistan(TCP) for the survival of the growers.
Amanullah reiterated his demand for granting incentives for
cotton exporters and conditions of pre-export security/
guarantee and registration be waived so that ginners could
export cotton on better price and could earn precious
foreign exchange of billions of dollars.
Expressing concern on the cotton stock of 1.8 million bales
he said that ginners would not be able to purchase phutti
from the growers after Eid-ul-Azha because their total
investment was blocked due to non-availability of buyers.
He said that Trading Corporation should jump into the arena
as third buyer to protect the growers' and ginners'
interests.
Aman said that PCGA never incurred loss in the business of
cotton and it had earned profit of billions of rupees in
this business.
He said that Sutlej river played a havoc in Bahawalnagar and
Vehari districts where 10 percent crop was damaged.
Now Bahawalnagar is the only district in Punjab where cotton
production declined by 6.12 percent.
PCGA leaders warned the government that they would be forced
to stop purchasing raw cotton from the growers and taking
future course of action to save themselves from being
bankrupted.
He once again rejected the cotton production estimate of the
Cotton Crop Assessment Committee (CCAC) describing it unfair
and exaggerated and said that cotton production for 2011-12
would not be less than 15 million bales, and the government
should ask the Trading Corporation of Pakistan to purchase
the surplus produce of 3.4 million bales or at lest 2.5
million bales.
He reiterated his appeal to Prime Minister Yousaf Raza
Gilani to save cotton growers and ginners from financial
losses as the textile millers had created a cartel to keep
the prices at the lowest level in spite of this fact that
New York and other markets prices are stable and higher than
Pakistan.
He said that the government should ask the Trading
Corporation of Pakistan to play its role as third buyer to
foil the cartel of spinners, weavers and other textile
millers.
He said that ginners would be forced to export cotton to
China and Turkey directly to save themselves from financial
losses, then textile millers would have to import cotton at
the highest rate by spending huge precious foreign exchange.
He said that textile millers should keep in mind that rupee
was depreciating rapidly and they would have to purchase
cotton from different countries at Rs 10,000 per maund.
Courtesy: The DAWN