Clean cotton back in focus

Now that the Textile Minister, Mushtaq Ali Cheema, has announced Rs 100 per 40-kg premium on production of contamination-free cotton, assuring growers and ginners of payment within 45 days of supply, one is apt to infer that major hindrances in the implementation of the Cotton Standardisation Ordinance, 2002, of which contamination-free cotton was a part, stand removed. However, by all indications, it may not be so.
The minister, himself is a leading textile industrialist, came out with the announcement during his visit to a ginning factory in Rahimyar Khan, which has distinguished itself for using modern Turkish technology to produce quality cotton. It was on that occasion that he is reported to have apprised a gathering of ginners of the government's quest of quality cotton, pointing out that premium could be an effective tool to push the strategy forward.
Significantly, during his visit to the factory, the minister was also apprised of a textile group's commitment to buy the entire production of the factory at a premium of Rs 70 on grade-II cotton, which he welcomed, beckoning other textile industrialists to emulate the example.
It may be noted that the minister also urged the growers and ginners to refrain from using polythene bags for picking and handling of cotton and strongly recommended the use of cotton bags for the purpose.
In so far as the response to the Textile Minister's appeal is concerned, ginning industry leaders are reported to have lauded his efforts for promoting contamination-free cotton and assured him of their participation in the campaign. This will, however serve as a reminder of the fate of Cotton Standardisation Ordinance, 2002, which ran into trouble in its implementation soon after promulgation.
The Board of Directors of the Pakistan Cotton Standard Institute rejected most of the suggestions of its special sub-committee and was consequently dissolution in 2003. Among other things, the disbanded body was reported to have emphasised the need of putting in place a monitoring body to enforce cotton standards, taking the plea that standardisation could not be left to mere voluntary exercises of the growers and ginners. It had also disagreed with the provision for its regulatory role to uphold standards of cotton, pointing out that this was not consistent with the government's policy of deregulation and market economy.
Although a hitch was thus created in the implementation of the Ordinance, a number of disjointed measures were introduced for making a beginning in standardisation. This has reference to the earmarking of certain areas in the major cotton growing belts, to benefit the growers, with which the minister's announcement of premium can be bracketed.
Reference, in this regard, may also be made to the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association's initiative of sending a delegation to Turkey to study the mechanism for producing contamination free cotton. It will, be noted that despite the failure of the standardisation initiative, the private sector stakeholders continued to pursue the search for good quality cotton, evidently, from the approach of enlightened self-interest.
The PCGA delegation also included the Trading Corporation of Pakistan Chairman too. That visit appears to have proved rewarding, which should leave little to doubt in view of modern ginning factories on Turkish model having been set up and run satisfactorily. Among the other disjointed efforts made for production of contamination-free cotton, mention may also be made of an initiative of the Export Promotion Bureau in May last, by launching a campaign to apprise the growers, ginners and spinners of the losses incurred from use of contaminated cotton in textile manufacturing for export.
Addressing textile associations, it said that it would educate them in the best practices to avoid contamination. For this purpose, it requested the associations to calculate and disseminate the per annum loss, incurred by their members due to the use of cotton mixed with foreign particles. Similarly, it asked the textile exporters for an assessment of quantum increase in exports from the use of cotton free from impurities.
Whatever happened to that initiative, it will be noted that importance of clean cotton has been duly recognised. As such, it will be in the fitness of things for the government to make a new beginning from where the progress in the implementation of the Cotton Standardisation was interrupted.