The Commerce Ministry has given green signal to Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) for buying cotton on high priority basis from ginners at Rs 3,202 per maund, aimed to stabilise prices in the market, sources in the Corporation said. While the Finance Ministry has turned down a proposal by Textile Ministry to double the funds for procurement of cotton by TCP.
"Following the ministry's directive, the TCP has started buying cotton from ginners through 13 centres from Monday," said TCP Chairman Muhammad Saeed. TCP has finalised contracts for 4000 cotton bales, he said. "We have planned to procure one million cotton bales to stabilise cotton prices in the market. However, if the prices did not stabilise, the Corporation will buy more cotton from ginners," he added.
"TCP has established 13 cotton procurement centres in the country, covering almost all important regions where cotton is produced," he said, adding that eight procurement centres were being operated in Punjab at Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, D G Khan, Multan, Vehari, and Faisalabad. Four centres have been established in Sindh at Mirpurkhas, Nawabshah, Sanghar and Sukkur, while one centre has been set up at Khuzdar in Balochistan, he said.
He said, "Although we are a little late, but will manage it, and expect positive results with the aimed to save the grower from huge losses. Sources said that at present cotton prices are at lowest level of Rs 2900 per maund in Sindh and Rs 3,050 per mound in Punjab. Ginners have appreciated government decision and believe that this step would help in stabilising cotton prices and saving the ginners from default situation.
Meanwhile, sources said that the Ministry of Finance has rejected the proposal, moved by the Textile Ministry to increase the funds released to the TCP from Rs five billion to Rs 10 billion. They said that due to limited financial resources, the Finance Ministry had refused to approve the release of funds from Rs 5 billion to Rs 10 billion to the TCP for the procurement of cotton from domestic market to increase the prices of the commodity.
They further said that Ministry of Textiles and the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (Minfal) moved a summary to Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on November 29 to double the TCP procurement from one to two million bales of cotton, while adjusting the support price of cotton per 40 kilograms at Rs 3,300 per 40 kilograms while that of phutti at Rs 1,435 per 40 kilograms.
The prices of phutti and cotton are decreasing in domestic market by each passing day. "The cotton prices have decreased from Rs 3,300 per 40 kilograms to Rs 2,500-2,700 per 40 kilograms while that of phutti have gone down to Rs 1,200 from Rs 1,400 per 40 kilograms," sources added.
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