|
Dairy Seminar in
Peshawar
One day seminar on
"Prospects of Dairy Industry in NWFP" was held in Livestock
and Dairy Development Directorate NWFP on 29-4-2004.
Friday,
April-30-2004
Canals’ closure
delays cotton sowing in Sindh
Cotton sowing will
suffer in upper Sindh as the canals of Guddu Barrage will
remain closed for another couple of weeks for de-silting
operation, irrigation department sources said.
Friday,
April-30-2004
CM resents
inefficiency of food dept staff - Wheat crisis
Chief Minister
Sardar Ali Mohammad Mahar has expressed his dissatisfaction
over the performance of Food Department, and ordered action
against its inefficient staff. He also ordered action wheat
hoarders indulged in profiteering.
Friday,
April-30-2004
Floriculture has great potential for export
The field of
floriculture has great potential to grow faster as a
sub-sector of agriculture, particularly in terms of the
export.
Friday,
April-30-2004
New breed of
bulls and cows evolved
A new breed of
bulls and cows is claimed to have been evolved at the
Balochistan Beef Production Research Centre, Sibi.
Friday,
April-30-2004
Exporters to
get incentives in budget, says Humayun
Commerce Minister
Humayun Akhtar Khan on Thursday said the government would
announce a number of measures in the upcoming federal budget
to boost country’s exports.
Friday,
April-30-2004
Flour mills
facing closure in twin cities
Flour mills in
Islamabad/Rawalpindi region are facing closure from Friday as
government wheat issue for them is ending-up from April 30,
and they do not have alternative source of open sector of
supply due to Punjab government's ban on commodity movement.
Friday,
April-30-2004
Mahar and
Jatoi discuss wheat crisis
Sindh Chief
Minister Sardar Ali Muhammad Mahar held a detailed meeting
with provincial Food Minister Arif Mustafa Jatoi and food
secretary on the impending wheat crisis in the province after
President Pervez Musharraf took serious notice of ban on the
movement of the commodity by both Punjab and Sindh.
Friday,
April-30-2004
Flour prices go up by Rs
2 per kg in Peshawar
The prices of flour
went up by Rs 2 per kilogram in Peshawar, as the Punjab
government continues ban on the inter-district transportation
of the wheat.
Friday,
April-30-2004
Food Dept plans Rs 1.5b
flour subsidy
The Punjab Food
Department has prepared a wheat release policy that will
subsidise the cost of flour by Rs 1.5 billion. The policy is
likely to be announced next week, official sources told Daily
Times on Thursday.
Friday,
April-30-2004
Two
killed, one injured over wheat share
Two people were
killed and one injured on Thursday when farmers exchanged fire
after an argument over a wheat crop in Gharmula Virkan
village, some 40 kilometres from Sheikhupura.
Friday,
April-30-2004
Fishermen assured of financial help
District Nazim
Malik Asad Sikandar has said that the district government will
provide financial assistance to fishermen of Manchhar Lake and
rebuild houses destroyed by floods last year.
Friday,
April-30-2004
Dull trading
on cotton market
Business deals on
the cotton market showed a fall on Thursday, taking lead from
the negative trend in the New York cotton futures.
Friday,
April-30-2004
Dullness
prevails on cotton market
Cotton market on
Thursday lacked normal trading interest as spinners withdrew
to the sidelines anticipating decline in prices after
more-than-limit fall in New York cotton futures on panic
speculative unloadings.
Friday,
April-30-2004
ANALYSIS: fall in
New York prices depresses domestic cotton
Downswing in weekly
export sales in the United States of America (USA), hardening
of the US dollar, Chinese decision to rein in their bloated
economy and the worsening of war situation in Iraq triggered a
massive decline in the prices of New York cotton futures,
which, in turn, dampened the price sentiment of domestic lint
prices.
Friday,
April-30-2004
Citrus management
system suggested
University of
Agriculture vice-chancellor Dr Bashir Ahmad has stressed the
need for introducing a post-harvest management system for
citrus throughout the fruit-handling chain.
Thursday,
April-29-2004
Intensive
farming vital for food security: minister
Federal Minister
for Food, Agriculture and Livestock Sardar Yar Mohammad Rind
has said intensive farming is necessary for food security and
check hunger and malnutrition.
Thursday,
April-29-2004
NRB chief urges steps
to control pesticides adulteration
Chairman National
Reconstruction Bureau (NRB), Daniyal Aziz on Wednesday urged
effective measures to control pesticides adulteration and
proposed to evolve an 'on the spot fines system' with the
involvement of district Nazims and concerned departments.
Thursday,
April-29-2004
0.17 million
tons sunflower oil output likely
R. Shahnawaz Janjua,
Consultant, American Soybean Association (ASA), said that the
association expects the production of sun seed be around
450,000 tons in Pakistan which means availability of around
170,000 tons sunflower oil this year (January to December
2004).
Thursday,
April-29-2004
Crushing season ends
with 4 million tons sugar output
The Pakistan Sugar
Mills Association (PSMA) on Wednesday announced end of
sugarcane crushing season 2003-04, which took sugar production
to 4 million tons for the first time in history.
Thursday,
April-29-2004
No wheat, no
gas, warns Bugti
The Punjab has
until April 30 to lift the ban on inter-district wheat
transport or Balochistan will stop supplying it with natural
gas, said Nawab Akbar Bugti, chief of the Jamhoori Watan Party
(JWP) to Daily Times over the telephone on Wednesday.
Thursday,
April-29-2004
Food department
procures 0.9 million tonnes wheat
Food Department
Punjab has so far procured 0.9 million metric tons wheat in
the province while the procurement campaign is in full swing.
Thursday,
April-29-2004
Bumper
crop ensures wheat target
Punjab Food
secretary, Raja Shahid Hussain claimed that 3.5 million tons
wheat procurement target for 2003-04 would easily be achieved
due to bumper crop and incentives to the farmers despite free
market.
Thursday,
April-29-2004
Wheat trade to
be strictly monitored: Maqbool
Punjab Governor
Lieutenant General Khalid Maqbool (Retd) has said that
government would keep a vigilant eye on day-to-day sale and
purchase of wheat in the province.
Thursday,
April-29-2004
Flour Mills
Association calls off strike
The Flour Mills
Association on Wednesday called off strike after a meeting
with Sindh Food Minister Arif Mustafa Jatoi and Chief
Secretary Dr Mutawakkal Kazi following assurance from Arif
Jatoi of giving due consideration to their demands, removing
of seals of seven flour mills and withdrawal of show-cause
notices.
Thursday,
April-29-2004
Pakistan vegetable
oil prices stable, imports slow
Pakistan vegetable
oil market saw little buying interest so far this week with
domestic demand thin and well-stocked importers reluctant to
make fresh orders, dealers said on Wednesday.
Thursday,
April-29-2004
PCPA seeks promotion
of local pesticide industry
Pakistan Crop
Protection Association (PCPA) has urged President and Prime
Minister of Pakistan to intervene to protect the local
pesticide industry.
Thursday,
April-29-2004
Growers demand
farmer-friendly budget
Growers'
organisations are of the consensus opinion that
farmer-friendly budget is imperative for sustainable
development of the agriculture sector.
Thursday,
April-29-2004
Ginners trying to
delay ginning process in Sindh and Punjab
Ginners trapped
with unsold cotton have started expressing nervousness and are
making efforts to delay the ginning process both in Sindh and
Punjab.
Thursday,
April-29-2004
Two new
cotton varieties developed
Central Cotton
Research Institute (CCRI) Multan has developed two new early
maturing cotton varieties, which can give yield up to 45
maunds per acre.
Thursday,
April-29-2004
ZTBL enhances credit
sanctioning powers of officers
Zarai Taraqiati
Bank Limited (ZTBL) has enhanced the sanctioning powers of
Mobile Credit Officer (MCOs) and Managers to ensure timely and
maximum disbursement of credit to farmers under one window
operation.
Thursday,
April-29-2004
Brisk trading in
cotton
The Karachi cotton
market witnessed a positive trend on the second consecutive
day on Wednesday following the positive trend in New York
futures.
Thursday,
April-29-2004
The wheat
crisis has subsided, but is far from over
Thank goodness the
wheat crisis has subsided, with the owners of Karachi’s
flourmills calling off the strike they had begun on Monday.
Thursday,
April-29-2004
Flour mills
call off strike
The owners of
Karachi’s flour mills on Wednesday called off the strike they
had started on Monday, after the provincial authorities
accepted the strikers’ demand for the restoration of the
licenses of seven flour mills.
Thursday,
April-29-2004
President takes
note of ban on wheat movement
Taking serious
notice of rejection of Australian wheat and imposition of ban
on inter-provincial transportation of wheat by Punjab and
Sindh, President Pervez Musharraf called the minister of state
for food and agriculture Sikandar Bosan and directed him to
take immediate steps to resolve the crisis.
Thursday,
April-29-2004
Cut in rice
price criticized
The Sindh
Balochistan Rice Millers and Traders Association has expressed
concern over a sudden drop in the purchase rate of IRRI-6 rice
and demanded a committee to keep watch on the price
fluctuation.
Thursday,
April-29-2004
Plea to
lift ban on wheat movement
Growers of the
interior of Sindh have condemned the ban on the movement of
wheat in the Sukkur region and demanded the lifting of the
ban.
Thursday,
April-29-2004
Flour millers
call off strike on minister's assurance - Demands to be
considered
Flour mill owners
called off their strike on Wednesday after getting an
assurance by Sindh Food Minister Arif Jatoi that he would
insist on removal of restriction on wheat movement in Sindh
and Punjab at the provincial food ministers' meeting scheduled
for Friday (April 30) in Islamabad.
Thursday,
April-29-2004
Ginners raise
prices on cotton market
Physical activity
on the cotton market on Wednesday shrank as ginners further
raised their asking prices taking a bullish cue from the New
York cotton futures.
Thursday,
April-29-2004
Flour mills’
strike continues for second day
Families of at
least 5,000 daily-wages workers of the flour mills face
problems as 75 per cent mills out of total 70 observed strike
on the second consecutive day on Tuesday.
Wednesday,
April-28-2004
Farmers
prefer private buyers
The food department
is finding it difficult to meet its wheat procurement target
as farmers are selling their crop to private buyers.
Wednesday,
April-28-2004
EU launches Rs 1.6 b
project to boost Livestock services
European Union (EU)
has launched a six-year project for strengthening LIVESTOCK
services in Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) at a
cost of Rs 1.6 billion aimed at increasing LIVESTOCK potential
by controlling diseases.
Wednesday,
April-28-2004
Australian wheat could have devastating effect on local crop
An official
spokesman on Tuesday said that the Australian wheat was not
accepted as it was contaminated and could have devastating
effect on the country's wheat crop.
Wednesday,
April-28-2004
Nazims to
help control pesticides adulteration
District nazims
will be given an important role to control pesticides
adulteration and take necessary action against adulterators.
Wednesday,
April-28-2004
PA passes
Sindh Fisheries Bill
The Sindh Assembly
has passed the Sindh Fisheries (Amendment) Bill, 2003 banning
the use of destructive nets ‘Bullo’, ‘Gujjo’ and ‘Katra’.
Wednesday,
April-28-2004
Row over wheat policy
A dispute between
the Pakistan Agricultural Supplies and Services Corporation (Passco)
and the district food department over procurement of wheat has
been brought to the notice of the district government.
Wednesday,
April-28-2004
60,000 wheat bags
seized
More than 60,000
wheat bags were confiscated on Tuesday by the food department
officials from a local ginning factory. District food
controller Malik Khuda Bakhsh conducted a raid at the Reliance
ginning factory and recovered more than 60,000 illegally
stored bags.
Wednesday,
April-28-2004
Demand
to lift ban on cutting trees in Kohistan
Elected
representatives from Kohistan district have urged the NWFP
government to lift a ban imposed on tree-cutting imposed in
1992 and allow them to sell trees hit by landslides and
windstorms in the Kohistan range.
Wednesday,
April-28-2004
Wheat
procurement behind target
The Punjab Food
department and the Pakistan Agriculture Services and Storage
Corporation (Passco) have procured around 1.27 million tons of
wheat against their combined target of 4.5 million tons till
Monday.
Wednesday,
April-28-2004
Strike pushes
up atta prices
The strike being
observed by the flour mills on Tuesday further pushed up the
retail price of atta to Rs 14 and Rs 16 a kg, adding miseries
to people. Tuesday was the second day of the protest by the
flour mills.
Wednesday,
April-28-2004
NWFP heading
towards wheat shortage
The Punjab
government decision of ban on the inter-district movement of
wheat is heading NWFP towards worst kind of wheat shortage as
it has remained with the stock of only seven days, said NWFP
Minister for Food, Fazal Rabbani, while talking to newsmen
here at Peshawar Press Club (PPC) on Tuesday.
Wednesday,
April-28-2004
NWFP heading
towards wheat shortage
The Punjab
government decision of ban on the inter-district movement of
wheat is heading NWFP towards worst kind of wheat shortage as
it has remained with the stock of only seven days, said NWFP
Minister for Food, Fazal Rabbani, while talking to newsmen
here at Peshawar Press Club (PPC) on Tuesday.
Wednesday,
April-28-2004
3.5 million
tons wheat target to be achieved
Punjab Chief
Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi inspecting under pass at
Jinnah Hospital and Doctor's Hospital here on Tuesday said
that it would be completed within stipulated period of three
months.
Wednesday,
April-28-2004
Pakistani rice
prices slip further to boost exports
Pakistani rice
prices slipped over the past week and dealers said on Tuesday
they would slide more in days ahead as exporters were finding
it hard to get orders at the current levels.
Wednesday,
April-28-2004
Drug checks: ANF to exempt
fruits and vegetable exports to Saudi Arabia
The Anti-Narcotic
Force (ANF) is to exempt fruit and vegetable export
consignments of bona-fide exporters destined for Saudi Arabia
on undertaking provided by their associations.
Wednesday,
April-28-2004
Meat sellers'
arrest flayed
Head of Jamiat Al
Quraish Sheikh Muhammad Anwar Saeed has stated here that
arrest of meat sellers to curtail the meat price in the city
is unfortunate.
Wednesday,
April-28-2004
Flourmills
allowed to buy wheat from open market
With a view to
checking the rising wheat flour prices, Punjab government has
decided to allow the flourmills to purchase wheat in limited
quantity from open market of their respective defunct
divisions.
Wednesday,
April-28-2004
Active
buying on cotton market
Cotton market on
Tuesday showed firm trend as spinners were not inclined to
take even a technical pause and lifted all the lots offered by
the ginners at the higher asking prices.
Wednesday,
April-28-2004
Needy spinners lift
5000 bales at cotton market
Needy spinners
lifted nearly 5000 bales of cotton on Tuesday as prices were
low enough to suit their export parity relevant sources said.
Wednesday,
April-28-2004
Business
improves in cotton market
The cotton market
showed a slight improvement in business deals on Tuesday,
despite a negative trend in New York futures amid no change in
local spot rate for base grade three cotton.
Wednesday,
April-28-2004
Farmers
advised to cultivate cotton by mid-June
The cotton farmers
have been advised to cultivate double quantity of cotton
plants by mid of June to get better per acre production,
official sources told APP here on Thursday.
Tuesday,
April-27-2004
Flour crisis looms
large amid strike by millers - 70 units stop grinding
Leaders of the
Pakistan Flour Mills Association claimed that wheat grinding
operation was suspended by 70 mills in the city on Monday in
response to its strike call. However, some flour millers and
traders said that at least 18 units did not observe the strike.
Tuesday,
April-27-2004
Modern
technologies suggested to save irrigation water
Around 40 to 50
percent water used for irrigation through conventional means
could be saved by adopting modern technologies and methods.
Tuesday,
April-27-2004
0.9 million
tons wheat procured in Punjab
Punjab Food and
Agriculture Minister Mohammad Iqbal on Monday said that
provincial food department has acquired 600,000 tons whereas
300,000 tons wheat has been acquired by the Passco to-date.
Tuesday,
April-27-2004
Pak-Arab Fertilisers
sell-off opposed
The Pak-Arab
Fertilisers Employees Union (CBA) has appealed to President
General Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan
Jamali, and Federal Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz not to
dispose of profit-oriented units on throw-away prices.
Tuesday,
April-27-2004
Minister
stresses judicious use of water for farm uplift
Federal Minister
for Food and Agriculture Sardar Yar Mohammad Rind has said
there is a strong need to adopt technologies that use water
judiciously and for this creation of awareness is
pre-requisite.
Tuesday,
April-27-2004
Vegetable ghee
sale drops by 25 percent
There has been a
large-scale slump in the vegetable ghee market due to a number
of undesirable concessions granted by the government to the
importers of edible oil in Fata and Pata areas.
Tuesday,
April-27-2004
TCP eyes sugar export
to India
The Trading
Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) is eying export of crystal white
sugar to India in the wake of reports of the commodity’s
shortage in the neighbouring country.
Tuesday,
April-27-2004
20kg flour bag
price up by Rs8
The Pakistan Flour
Mills Association on Monday decided to increase ex-mill rate
of 20kg flour bag by Rs8 and retail price to Rs224. The
association took the decision following increase in market
price of wheat and the Punjab government curbs on purchases
from the open market.
Tuesday,
April-27-2004
Canal breach
floods mango orchards and villages
Several villages,
mango orchards spread over 700 acres of land and wheat crop
were inundated when a 50-foot wide breach occurred in the
Rohri Canal, near the Khesana Mori, near here on Sunday night.
Tuesday,
April-27-2004
Prices firm up on
cotton market
Prices firmed up on
cotton market on Monday as international prices fluctuated
erratically, relevant sources said, adding that some deals
were also struck on Saturday.
Tuesday,
April-27-2004
Cotton market depicts
lacklustre trading
Cotton prices
remained unchanged at Rs2,850 per maund (37.324 kg) for base
grade 3 on Monday as spinners and exporters were watching the
market direction after meeting their requirements, a broker
said.
Tuesday,
April-27-2004
Momentum
picks up on cotton market
Trading on the
cotton market on Monday resumed on a higher note as spinners
and mills made fresh covering purchases against their forward
sales of cotton yarn and cloth.
Tuesday,
April-27-2004
Millers-govt war to hurt growers most
The owners of 140
flour mills are on a warpath with the Sindh Food Department
and have announced an indefinite closure of their operations
from Monday to protest against the suspension of eight of
their colleague's licences.
Monday,
April-26-2004
Small farmers under WTO
regime
Small farmer
implies that category of farmers who own holding of less than
five acres. Their number in the country exceeds 60 million and
in Punjab they constitute
45 per cent of the farming community of the province.
Monday,
April-26-2004
Sindh to
face acute wheat shortage
One does not have
to be an expert to know that Sindh will have to face acute
shortage of wheat even on completion of harvesting season as
this had been forewarned by all stakeholders, including
growers' associations.
Monday,
April-26-2004
Ginners push
cotton prices up
Scenario change in
world cotton prices came to ginners rescue who in order to
measure buyers' will pushed prices higher during the week
ended on April 24, 2004. But it worked only partially as
buying support contracted to modest size at intervals, sources
said.
Monday,
April-26-2004
Fat cows and
hungry humans
Every cow in the
European Union gets daily a $3 subsidy per head while 40 per
cent of the humanity lives on less than $2 per day. Can the
rising tide of globalization lift all boats and reduce
poverty?
Monday,
April-26-2004
Farmers resent
ban on wheat movement
The Sindh Chamber
of Agriculture has expressed concern over imposition of
section, 144 CrPC, by the Sindh government under which
inter-district movement of wheat has been banned.
Monday,
April-26-2004
Meeting to discuss
wheat crisis on April 26
A meeting has been
convened at Islamabad on Monday, April 26, to discuss the
prevailing wheat crisis and find some permanent solution to
solve the shortage of the commodity being faced by the
country.
Monday,
April-26-2004
Conservation
agriculture
Due to increasing
population and demand for food grains, declining water
resources, increasing cost of inputs, machinery, energy,
increasing desertification and deteriorating soil and
environments , a new approach known as the conservation
agriculture is gaining ground in the world.
Monday,
April-26-2004
Wheat procurement
price
The problems
confronting Punjab government's wheat procurement drive have
forced focus on the method for fixing the price of wheat, for
that matter of any agricultural commodity: should the
administration take a decision under some official scheme of
things or market forces be allowed to determine them?.
Monday,
April-26-2004
Wheat
arrivals in markets drop
Wheat arrivals in
traditional markets have dropped by up to 50 per cent as
farmers are either holding back their crop with the hope of
getting better price later in the season or selling it
directly to private buyers.
Monday,
April-26-2004
Fruits exporters
to meet ANF officials on April 26
A meeting of the
fruits exporters with the officials of Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF)
will be held at the office of Pakistan Horticultural
Development Board (PHDB) on Monday (April 26) to discuss the
mode of inspection adopted by the ANF for export consignments
at Port Qasim.
Sunday,
April-25-2004
Sugarcane
growers to get all dues by June 15
Payment of
outstanding dues to sugar cane growers would be made by June
15, 2004 and the next crushing season would be started from
November 1, 2004.
Sunday,
April-25-2004
Sunflower
cultivation starts gaining popularity: 60,000 hectares fixed
Sindh Food and
Agriculture Minister Arif Mustafa Jatoi has said the
cultivation of sunflower, a low water consuming and valuable
crop, has started gaining popularity in lower Sindh.
Sunday,
April-25-2004
Cotton
market wears cheerless look
Cotton market wore
cheerless look on Saturday as spinners showed their
determination not to yield to pressure from ginners or any
foreign factor, relevant sources said.
Sunday,
April-25-2004
Combating food
poisoning through live animals
UK scientists have
discovered a new way to combat food poisoning, by targeting it
in living animals using beneficial bacteria. (14-4-04).
Saturday,
April-24-2004
World Veterinary Day
2004
World Veterinary
Day is being celebrated on 24th April 2004. This is the fourth
year that this day has been recognised, as a way of promoting
the role and activities of veterinarians the world over.
Saturday,
April-24-2004
Tractor prices
may shoot up
The prices of
tractors may go up due to increase in the prices of all items
of steel. Industry sources said that due to heavy increase in
the prices of all steel items, the cost of production of
tractors has gone up manifold.
Saturday,
April-24-2004
Smuggling attempt
foiled, 15,000 wheat bags seized
A joint raiding
team of police and food officials seized over 15,000 wheat
bags laden on 75 trucks which were being smuggled to tribal
areas on GT Road here on Friday.
Saturday,
April-24-2004
Testing
labs established to improve quality of agri commodities
The government has
set up a network of quality testing accredited laboratories to
improve quality of agriculture commodities to meet
international standard for enhancing country's exports.
Saturday,
April-24-2004
Sindh sugar
mills yet to pay Rs2.8bn to growers
Sugar mills in
Sindh have to pay an outstanding amount of Rs2.8 billion to
growers against their purchase of cane during the current
crushing season.
Saturday,
April-24-2004
Conference on agriculture concludes
National conference
on 'Role of Agriculture in Poverty Alleviation' concluded here
on Friday, with formulation of recommendations for bringing
about improvement in over all agriculture production of the
country.
Saturday,
April-24-2004
Wheat movement: flour mills put off strike
All Pakistan Flour
Mills Association (APFMA) on Friday put on hold its
announcement for countrywide strike against ban on
inter-provincial movement of wheat, after a categorical
assurance from the federal government that it would intervene
to get the Punjab government's decision reversed.
Saturday,
April-24-2004
Cotton hedge trading move faces rejection
Cotton hedge
trading and future marketing are said to be in danger as the
government is likely to review its decision on both issues due
to strong opposition from the ginners.
Saturday,
April-24-2004
Procurement
of wheat hits snags
The food department
may fail to achieve wheat procurement target of 1.5 million
bags in the district as it has purchased only 150,000 bags
while 90 per cent of the crop has been harvested.
Saturday,
April-24-2004
Sugar
Advisory Board meets on April 24
A meeting of Sugar
Advisory Board has been scheduled for Saturday to workout
modalities for the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) to
pickup 0.2 million tonnes commodity from the mill-owners.
Saturday,
April-24-2004
Wheat
movement ban criticized
All Pakistan Flour
Mills Association President Malik Niaz Ahmad has termed the
ban imposed by the Punjab government on inter-provincial
transportation of wheat unconstitutional and demanded that it
should be revoked.
Saturday,
April-24-2004
Cotton price raised by
another Rs25
The Cotton market
witnessed modest trading on Friday, when the Karachi Cotton
Association (KCA) increased the official spot rate from Rs2,
850 to Rs2, 875 - a rise of Rs25. This being the third
consecutive rise in the current week.
Saturday,
April-24-2004
Prices rise on
cotton market following New York futures trend
Cotton prices got a
boost in local market as cotton futures in New York rose
sharply, said relevant sources said, adding that spinners
lifted over 2000 bales at lower prices.
Saturday,
April-24-2004
Prices move
up on cotton market
Cotton market on
Friday showed firm trend as ginners further raised their
asking prices in line with the international prices but
spinners were not inclined to bid above Rs2,900 per maund.
Saturday,
April-24-2004
PFMA for
lifting of ban on wheat movement
Pakistan Flour
Mills Association (PFMA) (Sindh Circle) has urged the
government to lift the ban on the movement of wheat towards
Karachi, threatening that failing to do so would force the
association to increase ‘atta’ prices by Rs40 per 80kg bag.
Friday,
April-23-2004
Ban
on wheat movement not yet visible
The ban on the
wheat movement in 18 districts of the Punjab is yet to make
any difference to the procurement pattern if the food
department's figure of Thursday is something to go by.
Friday,
April-23-2004
Farm fee collection:
contractors get more facilities
Director General,
Agriculture Extension and Research, Muhammad Akram Malik has
directed the administrators of Agriculture Market Committees (AMC)
to ensure all facilities to market contractors in collecting
market fee.
Friday,
April-23-2004
Pervaiz orders operation against cattle thieves
Chief Minister
Pervaiz Elahi has directed the IGP to launch an operation
against cattle lifters especially in eight districts of the
province.
Friday,
April-23-2004
Cotton crisis
looms large
Farmers in the
Punjab are fearing a cotton crisis, as the Indus River System
Authority's calculations about the late Kharif water
availability seem to go wrong.
Friday,
April-23-2004
Farmers
cultivate poppy in Hattar
In a clear
violation of the ban on poppy crop, farmers in Hattar area
have cultivated the crop at about three acres of land, a team
of local newsmen observed here on Tuesday.
Friday,
April-23-2004
Cotton market
remains steady
Cotton market
remained steady as cautious purchasing by spinners bolstered
prices to move little up on Thursday.
Friday,
April-23-2004
Wheat
procurement policy unveiled
The provincial food
department has announced wheat procurement crop 2004 policy to
the deputy directors food of Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur,
Larkana and Mirpurkhas and the purchase of wheat crop 2004
shall be governed as under.
Friday,
April-23-2004
PCSI
to set up labs for clean cotton growth
The federal
government has earmarked Rs71 million from the Public Sector
Development Programme (PSDP) for setting-up five high-tech
laboratories in the cotton-growing belt under its clean cotton
output drive.
Friday,
April-23-2004
PFMA
warns of deepening flour crisis
Pakistan Flour
Mills Association (PFMA) on Thursday warned that if the
government did not ease out wheat supplies to the flour mills,
the present flour crisis in Karachi would further aggravate in
the coming days.
Friday,
April-23-2004
FAP flays
ban on wheat movement
Farmers Associates
of Pakistan (FAP), while flaying the ban on wheat movement,
has said that the provincial government's decision was
contrary to its policy as well as of the concept of free trade
policy.
Friday,
April-23-2004
Wheat procurement:
government and private sector facing tough competition
The private sector
and the Sindh government are facing tough competition for the
procurement of wheat from the growers.
Friday,
April-23-2004
Plgmea hails
ban on livestock's export
The chairman,
Pakistan Leather Garments Manufacturers and Exporters
Association (Plgmea), Fawad Ijaz Khan, appreciated the
decision by the government to ban export of all kinds of
livestock from Pakistan.
Friday,
April-23-2004
Some
movement seen on cotton market
Some movement was
marked on the cotton market on Thursday as buyers lifted
respectable quantity from both Sindh and Punjab as they found
prices quite feasible, sources said.
Friday,
April-23-2004
Buying
gets slow on cotton market
Modest trading
activity was witnessed on the cotton market on Thursday as
some of the leading spinners remained active buyers at the
prevailing rates.
Friday,
April-23-2004
Analysis: cotton
market revives after earlier regression
This week saw some
revival in cotton prices from the earlier depression as lint
values gained from Rs 25 to 50 per maund (37.32 kgs).
Friday,
April-23-2004
Meat prices
likely to stay abnormally high
Meat prices in the
domestic market are expected to stay above normal since they
are being dictated by regional markets where per capita income
and spending power is much higher.
Thursday,
April-22-2004
Japanese grant
for fishery sector in jeopardy
Diplomatic naivete
by a delegation of Japan's fishery sector has put in jeopardy,
the prospect of a proposed grant worth $30 million to
Pakistan.
Thursday,
April-22-2004
Higher
ingredient costs drive US food prices up
The US food-makers
are raising prices on everything from cheese to luncheon meat
in a bid to make consumers pick up their share of the tab for
rising prices on many basic ingredients.
Thursday,
April-22-2004
Pakistani
vegetable oil buyers cautious on falling world prices
Pakistani vegetable
oil importers will wait for stability in palm oil prices in
Malaysia before booking more import orders for surging
domestic demand, traders said on Wednesday.
Thursday,
April-22-2004
Cotton
sowing in south Punjab from May 1
The cultivation of
cotton crop will begin in southern Punjab from May 1, with
sowing already started in non-traditional areas of Faisalabad,
Toba Tek Singh and Sahiwal.
Thursday,
April-22-2004
Food prices move up to
4.6pc in nine months
Higher-than-expected wheat and rice produce owing to 29 per
cent increased water availability and extraordinary industrial
production has improved GDP growth forecast from 5.3 per cent
to 5.8 for the current fiscal year.
Thursday,
April-22-2004
Bilour flays Punjab's
decision on wheat movement
Senator Ilyas Ahmed
Bilour, former president of the Federation of Pakistan Chamber
of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) and leader of the Businessman
Forum has vehemently opposed the executive order of the Chief
Minister Punjab wherein the inter-district movement of wheat
has been banned.
Thursday,
April-22-2004
Water
shortage delays cotton sowing
Sowing of cotton in
the Punjab may start from May 15 instead of the scheduled
April 15 because of acute shortage of water.
Thursday,
April-22-2004
Sindh objects to
Punjab curb on wheat movement
Sindh Food and
Agriculture Minister Arif Mustafa Jatoi on Wednesday said that
the imposition of Section 144 by Punjab government restricting
movement of wheat would adversely affect the wheat market and
create complications for other provinces.
Thursday,
April-22-2004
Wheat crop
damaged by rain, storm
Standing wheat crop
stretching over hundreds of acres was badly affected because
of overnight duststorm and heavy rain in the Sialkot and
Narowal districts.
Thursday,
April-22-2004
Edge to Fata/Pata
ghee units: PVMA to launch drive against government policy
An emergent meeting
of the Pakistan Vanaspati Manufacturers Association (PVMA) on
Tuesday decided to launch an aggressive campaign against what
it termed as "ill-conceived government policy" of providing
edge to the ghee industries of Federally-Administrated Tribal
Area (Fata).
Thursday,
April-22-2004
Rs 200
billion to be spent on poverty alleviation programme: Rind
Minister for Food,
Agriculture and Livestock, Sardar Yar Muhammad Rind on
Wednesday said that the government will spend Rs 200 billion
on poverty alleviation programme to improve living standard of
the masses.
Thursday,
April-22-2004
Private buyers
have an edge: Wheat procurement
The government's
decision to bear freight charges for wheat procured and ban on
inter-district movement of wheat has confirmed reports that
Punjab's wheat procurement drive was facing a tough and
unequal challenge from private buyers.
Thursday,
April-22-2004
Firm trend on
cotton market
Cotton market on
Wednesday again showed a firm trend as spinners made fresh
selective covering purchases in an effort not to allow further
increase in prices.
Thursday,
April-22-2004
Criteria for forestry commission finalized
The NWFP forestry
roundtable, a think-tank of the provincial government, has
finalized criteria for selecting a panel for setting in place
the NWFP forestry commission - a requirement which remains to
be fulfilled under an act of the provincial assembly since
1999.
Thursday,
April-22-2004
Prices depict
rising trend on cotton market
Fresh trading
report was not available from brokers who could not be
contacted despite hectic efforts on Wednesday.
Thursday,
April-22-2004
Smeda to set up 50
common facility centres for SMEs uplift
The Small and
Medium Enterprise Development Authority (Smeda) would set up
as many as 50 Common Facility Centres (CFCs) for development
of different sectors of SMEs in the country.
Wednesday,
April-21-2004
Disposal body
to take stock of wheat situation: Meeting on 24th
The looming wheat
crisis over Sindh will dominate the proceedings of the wheat
disposal committee meeting in Islamabad on April 24.
Wednesday,
April-21-2004
Minister inspects
wheat procurement drive in Sindh
Sindh Food and
Agriculture Minister Arif Mustafa Jatoi paid a surprise visit
to Sukkur, Khairpur, Khandiaro and Naushero Feroze to monitor
procurement of wheat in Upper Sindh.
Wednesday,
April-21-2004
Ban imposed
on wheat movement
Punjab Chief
Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi addressing a press conference
here on Tuesday has said that farmers in Punjab besides
getting support price of wheat would be paid Rs seven per
maund for transportation of the commodity as well as Rs three
per bag of 100 kilogram delivery charges, from April 21, 2004.
Wednesday,
April-21-2004
Kinno exports up by 64.67
percent
Pakistan exported
3519 containers of kinno fruit during the 2003-04 season,
against 2137 containers in the preceding year, showing an
increase of 64.67 percent.
Wednesday,
April-21-2004
Steps needed to avoid
pesticides' shortage Cotton sowing begins
Cotton sowing in
Punjab is round the corner while in Sindh it has already been
started but a lot is yet needed to be done on the front of
pesticides to avoid recurrence of the growers' worst-ever
experience with the pressure of economically pernicious pests
last year.
Wednesday,
April-21-2004
Ready off take
remains light on cotton market
The cotton market
on Tuesday ruled steady but ready offtake remained light as
spinners are extending guarded support hoping decline in
prices.
Wednesday,
April-21-2004
Punjab to buy wheat on
support price at Rs 350 per 40-kg
The Punjab
government would purchase each and every grain of wheat on
supporting price and for this purpose Punjab Chief Minister
Chaudhry Parvaiz Elahi had earmarked a huge amount so that a
better return could be given to farmers by paying them Rs 350
per 40-kg wheat.
Wednesday,
April-21-2004
Govt to bear wheat
transport charges - Incentive to growers
The Punjab
government on Tuesday announced Rs7 per 40kg as transport
charges for farmers and restricted the purchase of the
commodity only to the licence-holding private parties.
Wednesday,
April-21-2004
Farmers' bodies
condemn ban
Farmers' bodies on
Tuesday condemned imposition of Section 144 in the Punjab to
check movement of wheat, terming it "anti-farmers policy" of
the government.
Wednesday,
April-21-2004
Govt to lease out 150,000
acres for tree plantation
The Sindh
government has decided to lease out 150,000 acres of land, out
of 800,000 acres available with the government in the
province, for a period of five years that would be renewable
for another five years.
Wednesday,
April-21-2004
Wheat supply
position improves
The overall supply
position of wheat flour has improved in all the parts of Sindh
during the past one week though reports keep coming in of bad
quality of wheat flour being sold in Jati, Diplo,
Mirpursakhro, Sujjawal, Badin, Mirpurkhas and some towns of
Hyderabad district.
Wednesday,
April-21-2004
Private
sector dominates wheat purchase
The wheat
procurement drive is in full swing in the province, with price
hovering between Rs345 and Rs365 for a 40kg bag. With the
arrival of fresh crop, a cut-throat competition among the
buyers of public and private sectors is expected during the
next few days.
Tuesday,
April-20-2004
Technology to produce virus-free banana developed
The scientists have
developed the technology to successfully produce virus-free
banana using the tissue culture technique.
Tuesday,
April-20-2004
High
price may deter wheat procurement target
To achieve the
wheat procurement target of 0.6 million tons set up by Sindh
food department would be a difficult task in view of the high
prices in open market as compared to government's set price
for procurement.
Tuesday,
April-20-2004
Aptma proposes
abolition of 15 percent GST on ginned cotton
The All Pakistan
Textile Mills Association (Aptma) has proposed that the
General Sales Tax (GST) at the rate of 15 percent on ginned
cotton should be abolished in view of its adverse affects.
Tuesday,
April-20-2004
Strict system under
way to ensure quality of consumer goods
The government is
planning to establish a strict regulatory system to ensure the
quality and standards of consumer goods under WTO regime.
Tuesday,
April-20-2004
30 years achievements
of Niab - a review
At the conclusion
of the celebrations marking the 30th birthday of Nuclear
Institute for Agriculture and Biology (NIAB) at Faisalabad on
Sunday, a review of its achievement claimed that it had
developed and released a total of 22 varieties of crops by
changing their breeding patterns.
Tuesday,
April-20-2004
Sugar export to India
starts
Export of sugar has
started from Pakistan to India by train, it is learnt.
According to sources, Punjab mills have sold some quantity,
and more shipments are expected soon. The commodity is also
going to Afghanistan.
Tuesday,
April-20-2004
Cotton crop size
likely to be below target
Dwindling arrival
of phutti (seed cotton) from fields into ginneries reflects
the size of crop below the government's revised estimate of 10
million bales.
Tuesday,
April-20-2004
Canal breach
floods crop, villages
Three villages and
crops on 1,000 acres were submerged in water when the Khairpur
West Feeder Abul Wah developed a 40-feet-wide breach near
Rapri on Monday. The affected villages included Jam Shaikh,
Panah Shaikh and Phulia.
Tuesday,
April-20-2004
Farmers
demand release of water
Dozens of farmers
of Sindhri minor staged a demonstration at the Sindhri chowk
here on Monday to protest against non-supply of water for
about a month. The protestors carrying banners and placards
raised slogans against the SDO of Sindhri.
Tuesday,
April-20-2004
PCGA Threatens
not Paying Amount to Farmers, Banks
Pakistan Cotton
Ginners Association has threatened the government for not
paying amount to cottongrowers and banks if the government and
her institutions would not play their role in ending cotton
crises.
Monday,
April-19-2004
Demand for prime quality cotton rises
Return of spinners
and mills to the cotton market in order to secure themselves
amid fears that ginners may hold on to their positions
following rising trend in the international market, bolstered
cotton prices on Saturday.
Monday,
April-19-2004
Big
crop of kinno, export negligible
Citrus being the
largest group of fruits produced in Pakistan possesses all the
potential of becoming our major exportable fruit commodity. We
are one of the major
citrus-producing countries but our citrus export is
negligible.
Monday,
April-19-2004
Trading stride
observed on cotton market
Trading stride was
observed towards the end of the week when buyers sensing world
rate appeared in bullish mood turned to local markets to avoid
as much loss as possible.
Monday,
April-19-2004
Moot on role of agriculture in poverty alleviation
A three-day
National Conference on 'Role of Agriculture in Poverty
Alleviation' would begin here on April 21, whose
recommendations would be presented to the government for
incorporating these in the forthcoming national budget.
Monday,
April-19-2004
Wheat
procurement drive in full swing
The wheat
procurement drive is in full swing under the supervision of
Food Department.
Monday,
April-19-2004
Chakki
owners threaten lockout, strike against wheat seizure: 60
truckloads confiscated by food department
Atta Chakki Owners
Association has threatened to declare lockout in their
grinding units, or resort to strike if the Food Department
continues to confiscate wheat purchased by them from interior
Sindh to run their units and supply wheat flour to consumers.
Monday,
April-19-2004
Rs 5
billion allocated for farmers
Agricultural
Development Bank (ADB), in collaboration with the Revenue
Department Punjab, will distribute Rs 5 billion to small
farmers for buying fertiliser and medicines for the Kharif
season this year.
Monday,
April-19-2004
Wheat movement
ban defended
Provincial Food
Secretary Mir Mohammed Parhiar has said that wheat procurement
target of 120,000 tonnes fixed for Khairpur district would be
achieved soon because the district government has imposed
section 144 to stop transport of wheat out of the district.
Monday,
April-19-2004
Cotton sowing,
mango crop hit by water shortage
A shortage of water
in the Nara Canal for the last 15 days has affected cotton
sowing and mango orchards.
Monday,
April-19-2004
ANALYSIS: sellers resist falling trend in cotton prices
The current cotton
season 2003-04 has almost come to an end with the ex-gin
production of about 10 million local bales.
Monday,
April-19-2004
City District
Government rejects proposal to categorise meat
The City District
Government (CDG) has rejected the proposal of Livestock
Department to issue separate licences to butchers interested
in selling 'A' category and 'low' quality mutton in the
provincial metropolis.
Sunday,
April-18-2004
Sugarcane crushing almost completed
Practically all the
sugar mills in the country have completed the seasonal
crushing of sugarcane and have now pulled down their shutters.
Sunday,
April-18-2004
Cotton output close to
9.8 million bales
Cotton production
has come close to 9.8 million bales by April 15, indicating
that the overall production has crossed 10 million bales.
Sunday,
April-18-2004
New cotton
variety to be evolved
A private firm,
presently dealing in agro-chemicals formulation, would
introduce a high-yielding and disease resistant cotton variety
for commercial sowing by the year 2006.
Sunday,
April-18-2004
Government urged
to frame farmer-friendly policies
Senator Sanaullah
Baloch has expressed the need for giving farmers their due
rights to develop the agriculture sector.
Sunday,
April-18-2004
Poultry Feeds Rate Rs. 20
Increases In Punjab And NWFP
Poultry feeds rate
rs,20/- increases in punjab and nwfp! Today! Poultry feeds
rate increases in punjab and NWFP.
Saturday,
April-17-2004
Cotton Hedge Invites
Strong Resistance
The cotton hedge, a
by-product of gambling based speculative trading of cotton has
invited a strong resistance among three major stakeholders of
cash crop include growers.
Saturday,
April-17-2004
Banks
finance big rice exporters
Big rice exporters
are accumulating rice and building their inventory and banks
are financing them under the Export Refinance Scheme on very
nominal mark up whereas SME rice exporters are not getting
finance due to their inability to provide collaterals.
Saturday,
April-17-2004
Cotton market
slightly stable
The cotton market
observed a short stability on Friday, as the ginners gained a
minute power in the wake of fresh developments witnessed at
New York cotton future.
Saturday,
April-17-2004
Agri growth not
up to mark: UNDP
The UNDP said
Friday that the increase of a mere 4.1 percent in the
agriculture sector is not up to the mark, as in the same
conditions the growth in neighbouring India was registered at
9.7 percent in 2003.
Saturday,
April-17-2004
USDA assures help in agriculture sector
US Department of
Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Secretary James Mosley has assured
Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz of USDA's desire to extend
technical assistance to Pakistan for improving farm yields.
Saturday,
April-17-2004
'Quality research must to
eliminate poultry diseases'
Huge financial cost
is one of the major hurdles in conducting high quality
research which is necessary for checking the disease threat
being faced by the poultry industry of Pakistan.
Saturday,
April-17-2004
Citrus culture
International
conference on citrus culture will be held at University of
Agriculture Faisalabad from April 28 to 30.
Saturday,
April-17-2004
Sindh cotton
production target for 2003-04 raised
Sindh Agriculture
Department has enhanced the provincial cotton production
target fixed by the Federal Committee on Agriculture at 2.4
million bales by 0.6 million bales for the year 2003-04
despite the fact that the cotton production is continuously
recording decline for last two years.
Saturday,
April-17-2004
Cotton hedge trading
The chairman,
Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), Dr
Tariq Hassan, has asserted that organizations wishing to enter
into hedge trading must, first and foremost, have adequate
financial and professional resources , risk management
procedures and state-of-the-art technology.
Saturday,
April-17-2004
Cotton prices firm as demand picks up
Cotton prices on
Friday rose from the current lower levels as spinners and
mills resumed their covering operations amid fears that
ginners may held on to their positions in line with the
recovery staged by the New York cotton futures.
Saturday,
April-17-2004
Spinners do some shopping on cotton market
Changed scenario on
the international level forced the local spinners to do some
shopping in cotton to escape possible loss if rising tempo
continued, relevant sources said on Friday.
Saturday,
April-17-2004
Punjab sets 3.5
million tonnes wheat target
Punjab government
has set 3.5 million tonnes wheat purchase target for current
year and for this purpose Rs 34 billion have been obtained
from a consortium of national banks.
Friday,
April-16-2004
Abolition of sales
tax on sugar demanded
The Federation of
Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has
demanded abolition of sales tax on sugar.
Friday,
April-16-2004
ZTBL launches
tripartite control system
The Management of
Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) has launched tripartite
control system in order to exercise effective internal
controls and improve vigilance in the field offices especially
in the regions of large loan portfolios and concentrated
operations.
Friday,
April-16-2004
Prospects bright
for sugar export to India
The reports about
shortage of sugar in India have created a bright opportunity
for Pakistan to export its surplus sugar to the neighbouring
country, industry sources said here on Thursday.
Friday,
April-16-2004
Wheat hoarding
emerges as lucrative trade
The hoarding of
wheat has emerged as a lucrative business for jobbers who
earned around 30 per cent profits after retiring all their
debt and operational liabilities, banking industry sources
confided to The News on Thursday.
Friday,
April-16-2004
Sugar industry holds
2.450 million tons unsold stock
The sugar mills are
holding an unsold stock of more than 2.450 million tons of
sugar, industry data showed here on Thursday.
Friday,
April-16-2004
FPCCI calls for
abolishing ST on sugar
The Federation of
Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s standing
committee on sugar has demanded of the government to abolish
the sales tax on sugar.
Friday,
April-16-2004
Bright
chances for export of sugar to India
The reports about
shortage of sugar in India has created bright opportunity for
Pakistan to export its surplus sugar to the neighbouring
country, industry sources said here on Thursday.
Friday,
April-16-2004
Exporters to buy
150 parboil rice plants from India
Rice exporters will
buy 150 parboil rice plants from India to add value to their
exports. The first lot of 12 plants is due to arrive after two
months.
Friday,
April-16-2004
PSMA for inclusion of sugar in sensitive items' list for Safta
Pakistan Sugar
Mills Association (PSMA) has demanded of the government to
include sugar in sensitive items' list for South Asia Free
Trade Arrangement (Safta) regime to protect local industry.
Friday,
April-16-2004
Couple of deals finalised on cotton market
A couple of deals
were finalised on the cotton market, which surprised the
sellers, who are showing understanding of the manufacturers
and exporters problems, sources said.
Friday,
April-16-2004
Abolition of ST
on sugar sought
The first meeting
of the FPCCI standing committee on sugar and allied
industries, which was held on April 14, called for the
abolition of sales tax on sugar, which was the only food item
on which sales tax had been levied.
Friday,
April-16-2004
Cotton
market resists fall in prices
Cotton prices on
Thursday resisted fresh decline as ginners stayed on the
sidelines followed by reports of a sharp rebound staged by the
New York cotton futures.
Friday,
April-16-2004
ANALYSIS: slump continues in cotton market
Slump conditions
continued in the domestic market this week as lint prices
suffered further losses ranging from Rs 100 to Rs 150 per
mound (37.32 kgs) compared to last week.
Friday,
April-16-2004
2 Pakistani mangoes exhibitions in Russia, China, Iran in July
Pakistan
horticulture development and export board and mango growers
have unanimously decided for holding of two overseas mango
exhibitions in mid July.
Thursday,
April-15-2004
Jamali may announce package for farmers
Prime Minister Mir
Zafarullah Khan Jamali is likely to announce an incentive
package for the uplift of agriculture sector of Pakistan in
the 100th General Body Meeting (GBM) of Farmers Associates
Pakistan (FAP).
Thursday,
April-15-2004
Exporters to buy 150 parboil rice plants from India
Rice exporters will
buy 150 parboil rice plants from India to add value to their
exports. The first lot of 12 plants is due to arrive after two
months.
Thursday,
April-15-2004
Five food
officials suspended on corruption charges
An assistant food
controller and four inspectors were suspended from service
after a scam of the defective wheat procurement was surfaced
in Kamoke on Wednesday.
Thursday,
April-15-2004
Farmers
freed from private jail appear in court
Ranipur police
produced the 33 farmers in the court of District and Sessions
Judge Khairpur on Wednesday.
Thursday,
April-15-2004
Tractor
production up 44 percent
The financial year
2003-04 has witnessed an unprecedented increase in production
of tractors by local tractor manufacturers.
Thursday,
April-15-2004
Palm oil
rates dip on low demand
Pakistan’s palm oil
prices slipped in the past week on low demand from consumers
and dealers said on Wednesday they expect few import orders
next month given sufficient stocks in the country.
Thursday,
April-15-2004
Govt expects wheat yield to exceed target
The Punjab
government expects that the wheat yield may exceed the target
of 16 million tons. According to the second assessment of the
agriculture department, which had been based on reports of its
crop reporting wing, the province may cross the target by at
least 100,000 tons.
Thursday,
April-15-2004
Cotton price cut by Rs25
The selling
pressure compelled the Karachi Cotton Association (KCA)- the
regulatory body of the cotton trade, to slash down the spot
rate by Rs25 per maund, after a short interval which made the
millers unhappy as they had pledged a large number of bales
with the banks.
Thursday,
April-15-2004
AA group launches new target agri-nucleus plan
It is first time in
the history of Pakistan that the Ali Akbar Enterprises, one of
the diversified national business group has launched its
"target agri-nucleus.
Thursday,
April-15-2004
Lahori
food festival in New Delhi
The Maurya
Sheraton, Delhi, has requested the Avari Hotel, Lahore, to
organise 'Lahori Food Festival' in New Delhi from April 16 to
25.
Thursday,
April-15-2004
Growers want fresh tenders floated for sugar mills
Growers
organizations expressed strong reservations over the proposed
privatization of Thatta and Dadu Sugar Mills, having assets of
around Rs 1.3 billions, at through-away prices and demanded
that fresh tenders may be floated to attract genuine buyers.
Thursday,
April-15-2004
ZTBL to
give Rs 650 million loans
Regional Manager of
Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) Ajmal Hussain Qureshi has
said that Rs 650 million will be provided to the growers as
agriculture loan.
Thursday,
April-15-2004
Trading at standstill on cotton market
Trading in cotton
virtually came to a standstill on Wednesday as no deal was
seen having struck, relevant sources said. They said textile
sector appeared in a bad shape as sales were continuing on the
lower side.
Thursday,
April-15-2004
Pakistan's palm oil prices dip on low demand, imports slow
Pakistan's palm oil
prices slipped in the past week on low demand from consumers
and dealers said on Wednesday they expect few import orders
next month given sufficient stocks in the country.
Thursday,
April-15-2004
Easy trend
continues on cotton market
Cotton prices on
Wednesday shed another Rs25 as some of the ginners tried to
get out of the market followed by bearish reports from the
world markets but there was no matching buying by the spinners
or mills.
Thursday,
April-15-2004
Rice
cultivation area declines
Shams-ul-Islam - a
leading rice exporter - in a letter to the federal government
has pointed out that the land under cultivation of cheap
varieties of rice, both in Punjab (for basmati PK-385) and in
Sindh and Balochistan (Irri-6) is rapidly decreasing - a
negative signal for the export of rice.
Wednesday,
April-14-2004
Minfal seeks Rs 2,462 million for PSDP in next budget
The Ministry for
Food, Agriculture and Livestock (Minfal) has demanded Rs 2,462
million for Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) in next
federal budget.
Wednesday,
April-14-2004
ADB for open bidding to procure, sell wheat
The Asian
Development Bank (ADB) wants the closure of all the provincial
food departments and procurement and sales of strategic wheat
reserve entirely on market rates by the PASSCO, a federal
government agency.
Wednesday,
April-14-2004
PCPA seeks
pesticide policy
Pakistan Crop
Protection Association (PCPA) has demanded of the government
to announce a comprehensive pesticide policy for safeguarding
the interests of all stakeholders of the pesticide sector.
Wednesday,
April-14-2004
Role
of Malaysian palm oil highlighted
Malaysian Palm Oil
Promotion Council (MPOPC) organised a seminar on 'Trends &
Developments in Palm Oil Industry' on Tuesday.
Wednesday,
April-14-2004
Committee formed to regulate exports of livestock
Minister for Food,
Agriculture and Livestock, Sardar Yar Mohammad Rind on Tuesday
constituted a committee, to be headed by an Additional
Secretary, to regulate the exports of livestock from Pakistan.
Wednesday,
April-14-2004
PCGA urges government not to allow hedge trading
The Pakistan Cotton
Ginners Association (PCGA) has demanded of the government not
to allow hedge/speculative trading of cotton as it may harm
the small traders, cotton ginners.
Wednesday,
April-14-2004
High
local prices dampen rice exports
Pakistani rice
exports were thin during the past week as existing orders were
shipped but new demand was limited due to high domestic prices
of IRRI-6 variety of rice, traders said on Tuesday.
Wednesday,
April-14-2004
Frontier
Corps to vacate fort: CM - Police foundation offers investment
in province
The headquarters of
the Frontier Crops will be shifted from the Bala Hisar Fort
and the ancient monument of the Mughal era will soon be handed
over to the NWFP government.
Wednesday,
April-14-2004
Two
deals reported on cotton market
A couple of deals
were finalised on cotton market on Tuesday manifesting that
spinners would lift lint matching prices with export parity
and quality, relevant sources said.
Wednesday,
April-14-2004
Prices
stay firm on cotton market
Cotton prices on
Tuesday stayed firm around the previous levels but alarm bell
rang among ginners after New York futures fell below the
crucial level of 60 cents per lb.
Wednesday,
April-14-2004
Cotton market witnesses brisk trading
Without any major
fundamental change, the cotton market witnessed another
successive active trading session of this week on Tuesday, as
both the spinners and the exporters covered their forward
positions.
Wednesday,
April-14-2004
PHDEB Chief Executive will visit Multan on april 14
Pakistan
Horticulture Development and Export Board of Ministry of
commerce and industry chief executive Shamoon Sadiq is
visiting Multan on Wednesday April 14th to meet members of
mango growers association.
Tuesday,
April-13-2004
PASSCO
may take away farmers’ Rs130 million
Pakistan
Agriculture Storage and Supplies Corporation (PASSCO) is all
set to take away more than Rs130 million from wheat growers in
the name of ‘sweep’ - an additional quantity of wheat taken
from farmers as compensation of expected losses during packing
and carriage.
Tuesday,
April-13-2004
Pakistan
faces $30 million lawsuit for rejecting Australian wheat
A Pakistani trading
company, whose shipments of Australian wheat were rejected
because of alleged contamination by a fungus not found in
Australia, is threatening a 30-million US dollars lawsuit
against Pakistan, it was reported on Monday.
Tuesday,
April-13-2004
Cotton
sowing begins in lower Sindh
Cotton sowing has
commenced across lower Sindh in full swing despite the
scarcity of water and the well-nigh un-availability of good
quality seed in the different cotton producing areas including
Mirpurkhas, Juddoh, Nukot, Tandu-Jan-Muhammad, Digri and
Kot-Ghulam-Muhammad.
Tuesday,
April-13-2004
EPB allocates Rs 78 million for freight subsidy on surplus
potato exports
The Export
Promotion Bureau (EPB) has allocated Rs 78 million to pay 25
percent freight subsidy on exports of surplus potato.
Tuesday,
April-13-2004
Tractors
selling on black market
Farmers on Monday
pointed out a growing gap between demand and supply of
tractors in the aftermath of recent steel crisis and dealers'
propensity to mint money out of shortage.
Tuesday,
April-13-2004
Project to
promote fishing sport
The Punjab
Fisheries Department will launch a Rs15 million project to
provide angling facilities at Head Baloki, Taunsa, Trimmu and
Head Marala from this year.
Tuesday,
April-13-2004
TCP pays over Rs 2.459 billion to sugar mills
Trading Corporation
of Pakistan (TCP) has paid more than Rs 2.459 billion to 22
sugar mills for the purchase of 167,871 metric tonnes of
sugar.
Tuesday,
April-13-2004
Dalda unit sale may complete in three months
Unilever Pakistan
Ltd is expected to complete the sale of its edible oil
business, having the brand name 'Dalda' in about three months.
Tuesday,
April-13-2004
Trading
starts on cotton market on reduced prices
Trading in cotton
was evident on Monday as spinners lifted a good quantity at
the falling prices, relevant sources said.
Tuesday,
April-13-2004
Government taking steps to strengthen poultry industry
Poultry industry is
doing normal business and an upward trend in poultry prices is
being noticed.
Tuesday,
April-13-2004
Reservations expressed on privatization - Thatta, Dadu sugar
mills
The pros and cons
of privatizing the Thatta and Dadu sugar mills must be
carefully weighed as selling them at throw-away prices will
serve no purpose.
Tuesday,
April-13-2004
All help
offered to Malaysian team for growing oil palm
Malaysia has shown
interest in oil palm cultivation in the coastal areas of Sindh
for which the provincial government has agreed to provide
necessary help, including land.
Tuesday,
April-13-2004
All help
offered to Malaysian team for growing oil palm
Malaysia has shown
interest in oil palm cultivation in the coastal areas of Sindh
for which the provincial government has agreed to provide
necessary help, including land.
Tuesday,
April-13-2004
Hedge
trading in cotton opposed
Pakistan cotton
ginners association has urged the government to turn down all
efforts of some 'vested interests' who want to reopen hedge
trading in cotton market of the country.
Tuesday,
April-13-2004
Standardisation to ensure production of pure cotton
Implementation of
the cotton standardisation and grading system at the
grass-roots level is vital for the promotion of
contamination-free and clean cotton production in the country.
Tuesday,
April-13-2004
Cotton market breaks ice after spot rates cut
Cotton market saw
some trading activity on Monday, breaking the ice after a
prolonged bearish trend thanks to Karachi Cotton Association,
which cut its spot rates by Rs25 a maund, dealers said.
Tuesday,
April-13-2004
Punjab to emulate Indian model of agri marketing
Punjab would
emulate Indian Punjab model of agriculture marketing to
enhance the level of protection to farmers cultivating cash
crops in times of domestic market crises, said provincial
minister for Agriculture Marketing Rana Muhammad Qasim Noon on
Sunday.
Monday,
April-12-2004
Sound performance of agriculture sector
The statistics
presented at the meeting of the Federal Committee on
Agriculture on April 3 reflected production in major Kharif
crops during 2003-04 at a level higher than the estimates
fixed before the beginning of the season.
Monday,
April-12-2004
Setting up of meat authority proposed
Workshop on "Red
Meat Situation Analysis" strongly proposed to government for
the establishment of "Provincial Meat Development Authority"
to improve the quality and identify the future development
strategies to meet local demand besides export.
Monday,
April-12-2004
Resources being utilised to eliminate poverty, ignorance:
minister
Federal Minister
for Food, Agriculture and Livestock Sardar Yar Muhammad Rind
has said that all possible resources are being utilised in a
transparent manner to eliminate poverty and ignorance in the
country.
Monday,
April-12-2004
Holidays in New York dampen sentiments on cotton market
The long holidays
in New York for Easter and local spinners transacting most
deals without the knowledge of market operators, dampened
sentiments on cotton market. The official spot rate was not
cared much which was left at Rs 2900 to satisfy the lust of
buyers. However, spot was down Rs 25 to Rs 2875 on Saturday.
Monday,
April-12-2004
Concern voiced over cattle smuggling
Chairman, Sarhad
Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCI) standing committee on
dry port, Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi has expressed concern over cattle
smuggling to Afghanistan due to that the meat price is showing
upward trend.
Monday,
April-12-2004
ANALYSIS: selling offers of imported cotton weaken market
The months-long
controversy on the crop size(2003-04 season) finally came to
an end with the general agreement of 10 million local bales.
The Government of Pakistan has fixed production target of 10.7
million of 170-kg bales ex-farm for the next season ie
2004-05.
Monday,
April-12-2004
Indian traders arrive to explore opportunities
An 11-member
delegation of the SoyabeanProcessors Association (SOPA) of
India reached here on Saturday, toexplore trade opportunities
with their Pakistani counterparts.
Sunday,
April-11-2004
Food
department and Passco start wheat procurement in Punjab
Punjab Food
Department and Pakistan Agricultural Storage & Services
Corporation (Passco) on Saturday began the procurement of
wheat in the Punjab province.
Sunday,
April-11-2004
Pesticides policy to be announced soon
The government is
going to announce 'National Pesticide Policy' soon, as the
draft of the policy will be placed before the Cabinet in its
next meeting, likely to be held within the next ten days.
Sunday,
April-11-2004
Punjab to evaluate research in agriculture
Punjab Agriculture
Secretary Captain Arif Nadeem (Retd) called on Punjab
University Vice-Chancellor Arshad Mahmood and discussed with
him possibility of undertaking research jointly by both the
organisations.
Sunday,
April-11-2004
Govt to set up lab for poultry industry
The government will
set up laboratory for poultry research at a cost of Rs.30
million.
Sunday,
April-11-2004
Poultry sector assured of various incentives
Punjab Minister for
Live Stock and Dairy Development Haroon Sultan has said that
government is well aware of the problems being faced by
POULTRY sector and various incentives are being extended to
this industry.
Sunday,
April-11-2004
Agri
varsity to introduce new courses
Newly-appointed
University of Agriculture Vice-Chancellor Dr Bashir Ahmed has
said the introduction of new courses in mathematics, computer,
environment, WTO, MBIT, MS will figure on top of his agenda.
Saturday,
April-10-2004
50,000
tons sugar export under study
Pakistan is
considering exporting at least 50,000 tons of refined sugar
before June to reduce surplus stocks and support sagging
domestic prices, a government official said on Friday.
Saturday,
April-10-2004
Sunflower sowing stopped due to seed shortage
The cultivation of
sunflower has practically come to a halt in Sindh due to
non-availability of seed.
Saturday,
April-10-2004
Ginners refuse to buy early variety of cotton
Announcing that the
ginning factories in Punjab would start functioning from
October 1 next, the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA)
declared not to purchase the early variety of cotton because
it does not meet the international standards.
Saturday,
April-10-2004
No deal
reported on cotton market
Deals were not
reported within usual office hours as prices maintained low
profile under pressure from world declining trend, relevant
sources said.
Saturday,
April-10-2004
Government
urged to eliminate duty on cotton waste import
Chairman Pakistan
Open End Spinners Association (POESA) Chaudhry Tassadaq Rasool
has urged the government to eliminate 25 percent customs duty
on import of cotton waste.
Saturday,
April-10-2004
PSC approves four new cotton seed varieties
Punjab Minister for
Agriculture, Muhammad Arshad Khan Lodhi, on Friday said that
Punjab Seed Council (PSC) has approved four new high yielding,
virus resistant and early sowing cotton seed varieties, which
would increase per acre yield of the farmers.
Saturday,
April-10-2004
Price
war continues on cotton market
Dull conditions
were again witnessed on the cotton market on Friday as both
ginners and spinners remained locked in a price war but it
appears to be a no-win situation for the both.
Saturday,
April-10-2004
PPCBL extending loans for dairy products and livestock
The Punjab
Provincial Co-operative Bank Limited (PPCBL) is extending
loans to small farmers up to Rs 150,000 for development of
dairy products and livestock.
Saturday,
April-10-2004
Cattle smuggling
continues
Cattle smuggling
into Afghanistan continues unabated through 'illegal' permits
allegedly issued by the political administrations of several
tribal regions.
Friday,
April-09-2004
Pakistani
fruits and vegetable being sold at throwaway prices in Dubai
Dubai market has of
late become a dumping place for fruits and vegetables where
quality Pakistani products are sold at throwaway prices.
Friday,
April-09-2004
Sugar
procurement: TCP invites PSMA to work out modalities
Trading Corporation
of Pakistan (TCP) has invited Pakistan Sugar Mills Association
(PSMA) to work out modalities for procurement of 0.2 million
tonnes sugar as per Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC)
decision in Karachi on Friday.
Friday,
April-09-2004
Poor
quality cotton seed being sold, say growers
Growers of the
district have condemned marketing of substandard cotton seed
by some Punjab companies.
Friday,
April-09-2004
Silk merchants urge government to amend DTRE scheme
The Gujranwala Art
Silk Merchants Association has demanded of the government to
amend the Duties and Tax Remission for Export (DTRE) scheme.
Friday,
April-09-2004
Sugar prices go up as mills stop sales
The sugar makers
have surprised all and sundry after imposing a ban on the sale
of the commodity at least for the time being, which according
to market sources is a decision to give rise to the commodity
prices.
Friday,
April-09-2004
Cheerless conditions reported on cotton market
Cheerless
conditions were reported on the cotton market as prices
maintained low profile, relevant sources said on Thursday.
Friday,
April-09-2004
Passco to procure 1.4m tons wheat this year
Pakistan
Agricultural Storage & Services Corporation (Passco) will
procure 1.4 million tons of wheat from Punjab, Sindh and
Balochistan this year.
Friday,
April-09-2004
Subsidy on
sugar export demanded
The President of
Kisan Welfare Council, Mohammad Ayub, has welcomed the
decision to export 200,000 tons of sugar.
Friday,
April-09-2004
Fertilizer makers may not meet demand: Exports to Kabul
The fertilizer
sector during the past few months has undergone many changes,
which include: higher urea prices due to culmination of a
10-year subsidy on feedstock gas for expansion plants of major
fertilizer producers; higher local DAP prices following
international markets.
Friday,
April-09-2004
Trading fails to pick up on cotton market
Physical activity
on the cotton market on Thursday failed to pick up as both
spinners and mills were conspicuous by their absence, eyeing
the recent negative developments on the foreign trading
centres.
Friday,
April-09-2004
Punjab
government unveils wheat procurement policy
Unveiling new wheat
procurement policy, Punjab Food Minister Chaudhry Muhammad
Iqbal on Thursday assured maintaining support price for
farmers and purchase of 3.5 million tons to maintain strategic
stock for food security.
Friday,
April-09-2004
Agriculture sector uplift top priority: Sindh chief minister
Sindh Chief
Minister, Ali Muhammad Mahar has said that the government is
giving top priority to agriculture sector and efforts are
being made by both public and private sectors to address all
problems confronted by the agriculture community in the
province.
Friday,
April-09-2004
Agri projects
to be launched in Bahawalpur and Cholistan desert
Mega projects will
be launched for development of agriculture in Bahawalpur and
Cholistan desert which will help increase the income of
farmers and alleviate poverty in the area.
Friday,
April-09-2004
ANALYSIS: lethargy continues in lint market
Lethargic
conditions, which started many weeks ago in the cotton market,
continued this week where lint prices fell by another Rs 25 to
Rs 50 per mound (37.32 kgs).
Friday,
April-09-2004
Acute meat
shortage likely
Pakistan is likely
to face acute meat shortage as a result of widening gap
between meat supply and demand.
Thursday,
April-08-2004
Milk-sellers refuse to reduce prices
The city
government's efforts to check milk prices have virtually
failed and consumers are still paying Rs 25 a litre instead of
Rs 22 in almost all parts of the metropolis.
Thursday,
April-08-2004
Incentive package for pesticides industry likely
The government is
likely to announce an incentive package in the budget for the
year 2004-05 for the development of indigenous formulation and
manufacturing of pesticides in a bid to enhance agricultural
productivity.
Thursday,
April-08-2004
Wheat
marketing policy not investment friendly - Study
The wheat marketing
policy of the government is not investment-friendly, says a
study conducted by the experts of the University of
Agriculture.
Thursday,
April-08-2004
Rs 4b owed to
sugar growers
Sindh-based sugar
millers owe over Rs 4 billion to growers in the province,
which they have to clear within 15 days after the end of
crushing season which will come to a close on April 30,
industry sources told Daily Times here Wednesday.
Thursday,
April-08-2004
Shortage of
wheat to continue for two weeks
The Sindh Assembly
was on Wednesday informed that wheat was being supplied to
flour mills from old stocks of 680,000 bags since June 2003.
Provincial food minister Arif Mustafa Jatoi told the house
that the wheat being supplied was the yield of the 1999-2000
crop.
Thursday,
April-08-2004
No
trading reported on cotton market
The trading on
cotton market during normal working hours was nil as the world
prices were persistently showing softening trend, relevant
market sources said on Wednesday.
Thursday,
April-08-2004
Pakistan's palm
oil market stable, importers seen active
Pakistan's palm oil
market was stable on Wednesday against the previous week as
importers placed buying orders for the month ahead, and
dealers said the market had room for more imports.
Thursday,
April-08-2004
Prices ease on
cotton market
Cotton prices on
Wednesday modestly eased from the previous levels as some of
the ginners tried to unload their positions at the current
levels amid predictions of further decline in prices.
Thursday,
April-08-2004
Atta price
fixed at Rs12 a kg
The Sindh
government has refixed the new retail wheat flour price at
Rs12 per kilogram, and asked the food secretary to ensure its
available throughout Karachi region at the fixed price.
Thursday,
April-08-2004
WTO
regulations for fruit exports: PHDB initiates drive in
Balochistan to train farmers
The Pakistan
Horticulture Development Board (PHDB) has initiated a drive in
Balochistan to train farmers in crop management to meet the
requirements of the new WTO regulations for fruit exports.
Wednesday,
April-07-2004
Cases will be registered against wheat traders - Illegal
purchase
Traders purchasing
wheat without a license and flour mill owners storing above
250 maunds of wheat will be arrested and cases will be lodged
against them , says Sindh Secretary Food Mir Mohammad Parhiar.
Wednesday,
April-07-2004
Duty
on fertiliser machinery halved
The Central Board
of Revenue (CBR) has slashed custom duty on import of
fertiliser machinery from 10 percent to 5 percent.
Wednesday,
April-07-2004
Australian wheat issue takes new turn
The fiasco of the
Australian wheat import by Pakistan Agricultural Storage and
Services Corporation Limited (PASSCO) has taken a new turn as
the supplier Tradesmen International has served a legal notice
to the Pakistan government demanding compensation worth
millions of dollars.
Wednesday,
April-07-2004
Farmers need help to meet WTO challenges
Speakers at a
seminar on the WTO regime have stressed the need for enhancing
the capacity of growers, millers and exporters to compete in
the world market.
Wednesday,
April-07-2004
Rice
prices stable on export outlook
Pakistan rice
prices are stable, with exporters expecting gains in the weeks
ahead on increased export orders from African markets, dealers
said on Tuesday.
Wednesday,
April-07-2004
Cotton market’s
lull ends
After a prolonged
dull session, the domestic cotton market finally broke the
lull with a reported sale of 1,400 bales on Tuesday, but the
prices remained thin as the spinners were still reluctant to
grab the offered stocks.
Wednesday,
April-07-2004
Palm oil lower
Malaysian crude
palm oil (CPO) futures ran into profit taking to finish lower
on Tuesday, weighed by losses in rival Chicago soy oil in
Asian screen trade.
Wednesday,
April-07-2004
Sindh sugar
mills resent cane commissioner's decision
Pakistan Sugar
Mills Association, Sindh Zone (PSMA-SZ) has demanded revision
of the "abrupt decision" taken by the Cane Commissioner (CC)
in connection with the deductions from the amount due for
cane.
Wednesday,
April-07-2004
Agri marketing wings:
officials asked to ensure implementation of contract terms
Provincial
Agriculture Secretary Sabhago Khan Jatoi has directed the
agriculture marketing wings assistant directors to ensure
implementation of terms and conditions of the contract in
letter and spirit.
Wednesday,
April-07-2004
Kachhi Canal to bring farm revolution
The Balochistan
agriculture scene will undergo a welcome change when the
Kachhi Canal project is completed in the next three years at a
cost of over Rs 31 billion.
Wednesday,
April-07-2004
Hedge
trading in cotton market opposed
Government should
not allow speculative and hedge trading in cotton market
because it would ruin the smaller traders while big traders
would become millionaire in a season at the cost of ginners'
and cotton growers' fate.
Wednesday,
April-07-2004
New crop cotton to create balance in prices
New cotton crop,
expected to arrive at the end of June, would create a balance
in the prices, helping the textile industry to get their
requirement at reasonable cost, said ginners.
Wednesday,
April-07-2004
Cotton
market lacks normal trading
The cotton market
on Tuesday lacked normal trading interest as spinners and
mills kept to the sidelines, awaiting fresh developments on
the world cotton market after reports of further fall in New
York cotton futures.
Wednesday,
April-07-2004
Plan for revival of POULTRY industry demanded
A viable plan for
revival of the POULTRY business in the country should be
introduced by the government, offering an easy access to the
grants and credits for compensation of the losses incurred to
the sector due to the recent crisis.
Tuesday,
April-06-2004
Afghanistan needs around 500,000 tons fertiliser, Pakistan
informed
To curb the
smuggling of agricultural inputs into the country, the Afghan
government has officially conveyed its demand to the Pakistani
authorities.
Tuesday,
April-06-2004
Millers warned against hoarding wheat
The Sindh food
secretary has warned that traders who purchased wheat without
licence and flour mill owners who stored more than 250 maunds
of wheat will be arrested and cases will be lodged against
them.
Tuesday,
April-06-2004
Irrigation projects to bring about green revolution: SIDA
The execution of
three projects in irrigation sector would bring about a green
revolution in Sindh within next five years as modernisation,
revamping, improvement and rehabilitation of one of the
biggest irrigation systems of the world would help in
providing water to tail-end users for cultivation of their
land.
Tuesday,
April-06-2004
Poppy
crop destroyed in Charsadda
Police, with the
help of local people, destroyed on Sunday poppy crop grown on
vast areas of Shabqadar town in the Charsadda district near
Mohmand tribal region.
Tuesday,
April-06-2004
POSA seeks ban on export of cotton waste
Pakistan Open End
Spinners Association (POSA) has urged the government to impose
immediate ban on export of cotton waste so as it could be used
for preparation of value-added items for export.
Tuesday,
April-06-2004
Call to
educate farmers about WTO implications
Speakers at a
seminar emphasised the need for enhancing the agriculture
stakeholders' capacity before the World Trade Organisation (WTO)
regime sets in.
Tuesday,
April-06-2004
Reap
unanimous on various issues
Syed Najaf Hussain
Shah, Chairman, Rice Exporters Association Pakistan (Reap),
has said that rice exporters are unanimous on various issues
being faced by them.
Tuesday,
April-06-2004
Sugar mill-owners welcome ECC decision
The Chairman
Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) Punjab zone, Javed
Kayani has termed the ECC decision of procuring 0.2 million
tons of sugar, as a right step in the right direction and has
noted that the millers would honour their commitment of making
100 percent payments to the growers by May 15.
Tuesday,
April-06-2004
Fishermen to apprise Sindh chief minister about harmful nets
Fishermen community
in its efforts to eliminate destructive nets will meet Sindh
Chief Minister Sardar Ali Mohammad Khan Mahar on Tuesday to
inform him about the losses incurred by fishermen community
due to use of these nets by deep sea fishing trawlers.
Tuesday,
April-06-2004
Raw cotton output
The raw cotton
production has surpassed last year's output by 71,606 bales at
9,750,007 bales as per phutti arrival figures received up to
April 1, 2004.
Tuesday,
April-06-2004
Trading accelerates on cotton market
A fresh deal in
cotton was reported till office hours but operators said good
quantity deals was expected late in the night, relevant
sources said on Monday.
Tuesday,
April-06-2004
Kalabagh or Bhasha
Dam within a year, says Musharraf
President Pervez
Musharraf has agreed with the Water and Power Ministry’s
recommendation in starting constructing either the Kalabagh or
Bhasha Dam on the Indus River within one year to cope with
Pakistan’s future water and electricity needs, an official
told Daily Times on Thursday.
Monday,
April-05-2004
Spread of
cotton pink bollworm
Cotton is the
single largest cash crop of Pakistan. In Sindh cultivation of
cotton started before the opening of the Sukkur barrage.
Monday,
April-05-2004
0.2 million
tonnes sugar export may cause Rs 700 million loss: ECC
decision
The government will
suffer a huge loss of about Rs 700 million in case the
proposal to export 200,000 tonnes sugar goes through.
Monday,
April-05-2004
Increasing wheat
yield
In Pakistan wheat
is grown over around 8.5 million hectares. About 20 per cent
of the total acreage is planted under rain-fed conditions.
Monday,
April-05-2004
Bears
continue to haunt cotton market
The cotton market
passed another unexciting session on Saturday as the prevalent
bearish spell in cotton yarn off-take worldwide continued to
haunt both the spinners and ginners.
Monday,
April-05-2004
Cotton
production reaches 9.7m bales
Cotton outturn at
the ginning stage reached 9.7 million bales equivalent lint by
the end of March, marginally up by 0.74 per cent, compared to
9.6 million bales output a year ago, senior ginners’ said on
Saturday.
Monday,
April-05-2004
Potential
and actual crop yields
The total cropped
area of Pakistan was 11.07 million hectares (mha) at the time
of its inception in 1947. It increased to 22.11m ha in
2001-02-almost 100 per cent.
Monday,
April-05-2004
Former
employees of Adabi Board denied jobs
The district
coordination officer has declined to provide jobs in the
education department to 22 employees of the Sindhi Adabi Board
who have been relieved by the board.
Monday,
April-05-2004
Advisory body on pesticides meeting on April 5
The Expert Advisory
Committee on Pesticides, constituted by the federal Ministry
of Commerce & Industry, is scheduled to meet on Monday in
Islamabad to discuss budget proposals and ways and means for
development of pesticide industry.
Monday,
April-05-2004
Availability of spurious pesticides common in Sindh
Marketing of
sub-standard and spurious pesticides is a common phenomenon in
Sindh, which could be judged by the fact that during the last
three months 242 pesticides' samples were collected from all
over the province and after laboratory analysis 24 of them
were found unfit.
Monday,
April-05-2004
Pida launches
'contact' drive
The Punjab
Irrigation and Drainage Authority (Pida) has launched a
comprehensive 'contact campaign' aimed at improving relations
and enhancing co-operation between farmers and the officials
of irrigation and other relevant public departments.
Monday,
April-05-2004
Allotment of
farm lands begins
The allotment
process of agriculture lands under the Chief Minister's scheme
has started in tehsil Keror Lal Esan.
Monday,
April-05-2004
Two-way curbs drive cotton prices down
The cotton trading
was denied the pace due to buyers/sellers attitude to see
abrupt turn in their favour which never came their way.
Monday,
April-05-2004
Analysis: cotton crisis further deepens for ginners
The latest cotton
figures released by Pakistan Cotton Ginners' Association (PCGA)
have confirmed total arrivals of 2003-04 cotton crop to exceed
last year's figures, as up to April 1, 2004, total seed-cotton
equivalent of 9.760 million bales had been received at
ginneries--up 0.74 percent from last year's same period.
Monday,
April-05-2004
Saudi-Pak
approves Rs 815 million projects financing
The 88th Board of
Directors meeting of Saudi-Pak Industrial and Agricultural
Investment Company (Pvt) Limited on Saturday approved total
financing of Rs 815 million for 12 companies in manufacturing,
financing, construction, communication, services, sugar and
energy sectors.
Sunday,
April-04-2004
20.1m tons wheat output likely this year
The output of wheat
crop 2003-04 is likely to touch 20.1 million tons, which will
be sufficient to fulfil the country's requirements during
2004-05, the Federal Committee on Agriculture (FCA) was
informed here on Saturday.
Sunday,
April-04-2004
Easy
buying trend on cotton market
Cotton market
finished the weekend session on an easy note as spinners were
again conspicuous by their absence apparently hoping further
decline in prices.
Sunday,
April-04-2004
Healthy wheat
yield reported
Reports of early
wheat harvest from across the district suggest better yield
this year compared to the last season.
Sunday,
April-04-2004
Pakistan Poultry
Industry and WTO
Pakistan's Poultry
Industry would suffer in the post WTO era due to its high
input cost, inflated administrative expenditures and the slow
breeding of birds.
Sunday,
April-04-2004
Cutting of trees on the rise in NWFP
Cutting of trees
continues unabated in the upper parts of Malakand, as the
authorities concerned have failed to check this illegal
activity.
Sunday,
April-04-2004
Ban on
wheat movement criticized
Sindh Abadgar Board
president Abdul Majeed Nizamani has taken exception to the
imposition of ban on movement of wheat by the Sanghar district
Nazim.
Sunday,
April-04-2004
Three milkmen die
on road
Three milkmen died
while their driver was injured in a road accident at Iqbal
Nagar on Ferozepur Road on Saturday. Police said that driver
Jamil lost control over the steering when the tie-rod of wagon
(No LRJ 1653) broke and it overturned.
Sunday,
April-04-2004
Police also claim share in price increase: Flour shortage
Transporters are
paying Rs30 to 50 on a 100-kg bag while bringing the harvested
wheat from interior of Sindh to Karachi which is one of the
factors contributing to a hike in flour prices.
Sunday,
April-04-2004
CM
concerned over wheat shortage
Sindh Chief
Minister Sardar Ali Mohammad Khan has taken a strict notice of
the recent wheat crisis in the province and sought a detailed
report so that action be initiated against those responsible
for such a situation.
Saturday,
April-03-2004
Punjab
farmers get 50 percent Abiana relief
Punjab Government
has implemented upon the promise by giving 50 percent Abiana
relief to farmers, who are at the tail of canals in Punjab.
Saturday,
April-03-2004
Another
quiet day in cotton market
The cotton market
had another quiet day on Friday, which is usually an off day
for upcountry ginneries.
Saturday,
April-03-2004
Fruit fair in June
The organising
committee of annual Mango and Summer Fruit Festival has
decided to hold the 39th annual festival here, in the first
week of the June.
Saturday,
April-03-2004
Call to
withdraw surcharge advice to sugar mills
Pakistan Sugar
Mills Association, Sindh Zone (PSMA-SZ) has requested the
Sindh Cane Commissioner to withdraw the advice to the sugar
mills to deposit the surcharge at the rate of 0.15 paisa per
40 kilograms with effect from 1991-92 to date with the
government treasury.
Saturday,
April-03-2004
Mill management
criticized
The office-bearers
of the Shah Murad Sugar Mills Mehnatkash Union (CBA) have
condemned the attitude of the mill management with the workers
and called upon the district administration to intervene in
the matter for the redressal of their grievances.
Saturday,
April-03-2004
Punjab plans to enhance acreage of forest
Punjab Forest
Department has formed a line of action for enhancing the
acreage of forests in the province. Official sources told
Business Recorder here on Friday that during the spring tree
plantation drive 20 million plants would be planted in Punjab.
Saturday,
April-03-2004
Dullness
prevails on cotton market
The cotton market
on Friday passed through another dull trading session as
buyers and sellers kept to the sidelines, watching
developments on the world cotton front.
Saturday,
April-03-2004
Sindh asked not to curb wheat movement
The Federal
Government has asked the Sindh Government not to put any
restriction on the movement of wheat from Sindh to other
provinces because the restriction would adversely affect the
prices of the commodity now being paid to the growers by the
private parties.
Saturday,
April-03-2004
Food minister takes note of overcharging by contractors
Provincial Minister
for Food and Agriculture Arif Mustafa Jatoi has taken serious
notice of excess recovery of charges and setting up illegal
roadside 'check-post' by the contractors of Agriculture Market
Committees in various parts of the province.
Saturday,
April-03-2004
Proposals
to enhance rice yield discussed
The members of
provincial crop management committee on rice deliberated upon
various proposals to enhance per hectare yield of the
commodity following decline in the cultivated area owing to
introduction of change in cropping pattern in rice growing
districts of upper Sindh.
Friday,
April-02-2004
KPT to set up
food courts
The Karachi Port
Trust will set up food courts on the Napier Mole Bridge (old
Nati-Jati Bridge) and under the Jinnah Flyover for recreation
purposes.
Friday,
April-02-2004
Wheat issue
price to be raised to Rs 380/maund
The federal
government is set to raise the price at which wheat is sold to
flour mills to Rs 380 per 40 kg in the next few months, a
senior official at the food ministry told Daily Times.
Friday,
April-02-2004
Pulses, rice, chicken, tomato prices on rise
After wheat flour
merchants who unduly charged higher price for flour, now
consumers are at the mercy of retailers who are demanding
higher prices for pulses, rice, chicken, tomato, etc.
Friday,
April-02-2004
Sugar mills accused of violating rules in cane purchase
The Pakistan Sugar
Mills Association (Sindh Zone) has expressed its inability to
follow the advice of the Sindh Cane Commissioner regarding the
unauthorised purchase of sugarcane from non-growers/middle
men.
Friday,
April-02-2004
Sugarcane
growers facing problems
President Kissan
Welfare Council Muhammad Ayub advocate has urged the Chief
Minister Punjab to take notice of what he called
high-handedness of sugar industry against the sugarcane
growers.
Friday,
April-02-2004
Drive against spurious agri pesticides
Punjab Chief
Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi on Thursday has said that
effective operation would be launched against those selling
spurious agricultural pesticides.
Friday,
April-02-2004
ANALYSIS: cotton prices continue to crumble
Tumbling prices on
the New York Cotton Futures Market and lower yarn rates in the
home market have humbled the domestic cotton prices by another
Rs 25 to Rs 50 per mound, Sharp decline in domestic yarn
prices have further punished cotton prices which continue to
crumble and remain under relentless pressure.
Friday,
April-02-2004
Only one deal reported on cotton market
No was the answer
by the operators on the cotton market who said they had their
eyes fixed on phone lest some deals took place in cotton.
Friday,
April-02-2004
Govt asked
to ban export of yarn
All Pakistan Cotton
Powerlooms Association (APCPA) has demanded the federal
government to restrain the unlimited export of cotton and
polyester yarn otherwise local textile and its ancillary
industries would be closed down.
Friday,
April-02-2004
Agri
credit in July to January 2003-04: Stuck-up loans exceed Rs
100b
Outstanding loans
booked by financial institutions towards the agriculture
sector have expanded to Rs 100.91 billion in the current
fiscal year, a food ministry official said here Wednesday.
Thursday,
April-01-2004
Meeting of crop management committee
Provincial Minister
for Food and Agriculture Arif Mustafa Jatoi is expected to
chair the meetings of provincial crop management committees at
Sindh Secretariat on Thursday to discuss the issues
confronting various crops and devise strategy for their
development.
Thursday,
April-01-2004
SMEDA to help
mango farmers
Arshad Hashmi,
manager agribusiness at the Small and Medium Enterprise
Develop-ment Authority (SMEDA), said here Wednesday that the
authority was making efforts to develop mango-farming industry
along modern lines.
Thursday,
April-01-2004
Sindh
directs mills to pay quality premium to cane growers
Although sugar
mills in Sindh have failed to pay quality premium for 2002-03
to growers, Sindh government has issued a fresh notification
directing the mill owners to pay quality premium for the
current year, 2003-04, also.
Thursday,
April-01-2004
Meeting held to check adulteration in milk
Punjab Minister for
Agricultural Marketing Rana Mohammad Qasim has said that all
basic amenities will be provided in Gawala colonies to ensure
availability of pure milk to people.
Thursday,
April-01-2004
Workshop
on food processing held
A one-day Awareness
Workshop on Agro Food Processing was organised in the Central
Cotton Research Institute Multan by Small and Medium size
Enterprises Development Authority(Smeda) (Agribusiness
division) in collaboration with the Mango Growers Association.
Thursday,
April-01-2004
Sugar
industry's problems discussed with ISO chief
Punjab Zone
Chairman of Pakistan Sugar Mills Association Javed Kayani made
a courtesy call on Chief Minister Punjab Pervaiz Elahi along
with the Executive Director of International Sugar
Organisation, Dr Peter Baron.
Thursday,
April-01-2004
Pakistan's
palm oil prices stable, imports seen slow
Pakistan's palm oil
prices were stable over the past week on ample stocks, and no
major import orders were expected in the near term as world
prices remained high, dealers said on Wednesday.
Thursday,
April-01-2004
Cotton yarn trading:
Aptma resents SECP permission to NCEL
The All Pakistan
Textile Mills Association (Aptma) has regretted that the
National Commodity Exchange Limited (NCEL) is being allowed to
initiate trading in cotton yarn along with gold.
Thursday,
April-01-2004
Cotton
market remains sluggish
Trading in cotton
was not reported by the operators till the usual office hours,
relevant sources said. They said deals were to land late in
the evening.
Thursday,
April-01-2004
Cotton market
rules firm
Cotton market on
Wednesday stayed firm as ginners were not inclined to lower
their asking prices despite falling mill demand and the
absence of leading spinners.
Thursday,
April-01-2004
Agri, industrial growth to surpass expectations
The State Bank of
Pakistan (SBP) said here Tuesday the overall agriculture
sector remained positive during the first half of the current
fiscal year despite the decline in the cotton crop and the
impact of the bird flu crisis.
Wednesday, March-31-2004
Government to assist farmers for better farm yield: Rind
The Federal
Minister for Food & Agriculture, Sardar Yar Mohammad Rind, has
said that government is determined to help farming community
particularly small farmers because they are the backbone of
country's economy as 40 percent of our exports depend on
agriculture.
Wednesday,
March-31-2004
|
