Talking to newsmen the other day, on the woes of the country's cotton economy, among other things, Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) Chairman Muhammad Akram, stressed the need for the textile and agriculture ministries and the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma) to work out a policy for countering contamination of cotton.
For, as he put it, around 15 to 20 percent of the country's total cotton production loses 50 percent in value due to contamination alone. As it is, both the growers and millers can do little to remain gainfully engaged in their respective pursuits minus the ginners. Thus it goes without saying that all purposeful activity in the cotton economy revolves around the ginning industry as its centre piece.
It will be recalled that the idea of developing contamination-free cotton struck the imagination of the government several years ago, along side the fascination for corporate agriculture. It is just another matter that efforts for effective planning and implementation of clean cotton endeavour, lost their appeal in the labyrinth of bureaucratic red-tape, or so it appears.
However, the damper notwithstanding, enlightened ginners continued to pursue the progressive approach on their own. Keen on modernisation of the ginning process, exploring its possibilities they also turned to Turkey for inspiration and guidance. A number of units are stated to have been set up on the Turkish model too, with prospects of others emulating their example.
Again, as ill-luck would have it, the failure of the previous government to address the unending quandary on the cotton front impeded the clean cotton drive. Now that the new government, seemingly recognising the vital role of the ginning industry, has started positively responding to its problems, for instance its predicament on the withholding tax issue, one can look forward to a massive all-embracing effort in that direction.