President Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday said that more attention will be given to increase the cotton production and directed the concerned ministry to pump in all available resources for achieving the production target. Zardari stated this while chairing a meeting pertaining to issues related to cotton crop.
The President said that cotton is the most important crop as it contributes 60 percent to our foreign exchange earnings by supplying major raw materials to the textile industry.
Water and Power Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf who is also looking after the Ministry of Food and Agriculture briefed the President about the current crop situation, with particular reference to cotton. He said the ginning factories have been exempted from load shedding to protect exports, the cotton growers and the textile industry from any negative impact.
The meeting was attended by Minister for Water and Power Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Salman Farooqi, National Reconstruction Bureau Chairman Dr Asim Hussain, special assistant to prime minister on water resources Kamal Majeedullah, special assistant to prime minister on economic affairs Division Hina Rabbani Khar, secretaries of relevant ministries and senior officials.