The Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) has written to the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (Minfal) to intervene for the resumption of cotton lint insurance scheme. The insurance companies had refused to resume the scheme as the ginneries failed to take all safeguard measures last year.
An official in Minfal told Business Recorder on Saturday that it has received a request from the PCGA for resolving the issue prior to the start of new season. The official said that without proper safeguard measures by the ginners, the insurance companies would not be able to resume the scheme, they told Minfal in a meeting last year.
"This is unfortunate that the insurance scheme was discontinued during the picking season last year. This will have the negative impact on cotton prices," he said, adding it would ultimately affect the support price of the produce.
Minfal has also urged the ginners to address the concerns of the insurance companies by improving the safety measures to resolve the issue amicably, the official added.
The ginneries always borrowed loans from the banks using the insurance documents. However, the deadlock would leave limited option for the ginneries to get credit from the banks, the official said. He also said that Minfal is negotiating with the insurance companies and the PCGA to sort out the issue for the benefit of growers.