ISLAMABAD: Farmers association and cotton growers Thursday proposed to the government to fix minimum support price (MSP) for cotton in the range of Rs5,000 to Rs5,500 per maund.

"We have suggested to the government to fix cotton MSP between the range of Rs5,000 to Rs5,500 during a meeting presided over by the Federal Minister for National Food Security, Syed Fakhar Imam," said Pakistan Kissan Ittehad (PKI) President Khalid Mehmood Khokhar, while talking to Business Recorder.

He said that if the government fixed cotton MSP below Rs5,000 per maund then it would not benefit cotton growers because of increase in cost of production of the crop.

"Farmers and growers would not accept MSP of cotton less than Rs5000 per maund," he said.

An official said that the meeting was attended by Chairman Trading Cooperation Pakistan (TCP), Managing Director (MD) Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (PASSCO), and the cotton growers.

He said that during the meeting, the minister said that the MSP of cotton will be introduced soon.

This is the first time that a minimum support price for cotton will be specified, Imam said.

Imam said that time to support cotton should have started when cotton was sowed but at the moment, plant protection can and will be given priority.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021