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Cotton crisis in Rahimyar Khan
From Our Correspondent
MULTAN-Cotton crisis has gone bad to worse in Rahimyar Khan
district where more than two lakh bales of contamination free
cotton are lying unsold with the ginners, who have also
stopped purchase of seedcotton (phutti) from the growers.
A meeting of Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association was held on
Saturday at which the ginners decided to keep all ginning
factories closed untill and unless the TCP started purchase of
cotton from the ginners. The ginners also decided not to
purchase seedcotton (phutti) from the growers. The prices of
lint cotton came down in Rahimyar Khan market as a result of
this decision of the PCGA and there were no buyers of
lintcotton in the market even at price of Rs. 650 per maund.
Meanwhile, the cotton growers of Rahimyar Khan have threatened
that they would set up camps and go on hunger strike and burn
their cotton stocks on the roads if the government did not
ensure purchase of cotton from the growers as well as
reasonable returns to them of their cotton produce within next
two days and the government would also be held responsible for
the serious consequences.
Meanwhile, Sindh Minister for Agriculture Hassan Ali Chandio
visited various ginning factories and Rahimyar Khan market on
Saturday at the invitation of District Nazim Syed Ahmad
Mahmood. His visit was aimed at producing contamination free
cotton in Rahimyar Khan district in future. Talking to the
ginners and growers, the Minister and the District Nazim
stressed the need for production of good quality and
contamination free cotton with a view to meeting the
international demands as well as of the domestic industry in
future because cotton was the only foreign exchange earning
crop of the country. They said that superior quality products
could only be produced on large scale through availability of
contamination free cotton. They said that the good quality
cotton and its products could fetch high prices in the
international and domestic market.
The growers and the ginners assured the minister that they
would continue their efforts to produce contamination free
cotton on large scale in future in larger interest of the
country.
February 8, 2002
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Pakissan.com;
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