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Govt urged to direct TCP to buy cotton
KARACHI : Pakistan Cotton Ginners' Association (PCGA) chairman
Shaikh Mohammad Saeed on Wednesday urged the government to
immediately direct the TCP to resume cotton purchase from
ginners.
In a statement issued here, the PCGA chief said that in the
absence of mill buying the unsold stocks of cotton with
ginners had swelled beyond two million bales.
He said that huge unsold stocks of cotton lying with ginners
had created financial crisis as the entire working capital of
ginners had been blocked in these stocks.
Shaikh Saeed lamented that on the one hand textile mills have
stopped buying cotton on the other hand the state-owned TCP
has kept to the sidelines.
He recalled that ministers for commerce and agriculture at the
start of current cotton season committed on behalf of the
government to ensure minimum price of phutti to growers at
Rs780 and TCP's procurement price of lint at Rs1855 per 40kg.
As a result of current situation, the PCGA chairman said,
ginners were unable to make payments to growers as well as
return the advances and loans taken from commercial banks. If
the current situation remains unchecked for further some time,
he said, the ginners would be left with no choice but to close
down their factories.
He said that during a recent visit to Multan the SBP governor
disclosed that the TCP had been given sufficient funds to
purchase more than one million bales of cotton. However, the
corporation under the pressure of mills, the PCGA chief
alleged, is not buying cotton from ginners.
courtesy Dawn
February 7, 2002
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Pakissan.com;
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