KARACHI: A meeting of the members of Karachi Cotton Brokers’ Forum (KCBF) and members of Broker Advisory Committee (BAC) was held recently at Cotton Exchange Building Brokers room.
The meeting was chaired by Chairman Naseem Usman and it discussed the various points and decided to send the following proposals to the government for their earliest implementation. The present government urged to include below proposals in the ensuing annual budget/cotton policy.
According to the press statement issued here, cotton is a backbone of Pakistan’s economy. Cotton and allied cotton products account for about 65 percent of the country’s export earning and add over 10 percent of the country’s GDP. Cotton farming is also the principal source of raw material for the textile sector. Hundreds of ginners, factories and textile mills in the country heavily depend upon cotton and employing millions of people along the entire cotton value added chain i.e. from weaving to textile and garment export.
Today we do hereby state for consideration of facts and grounds which will be acceptable to the Government because of the fact that the survival and existence of Pakistan is based on its prosperity and not on the basis of one likeness and dislike of other.
We should take our part to save the cotton crops in Pakistan. The Farmers and landlords who after doing hard work in day and night bearing expenses for cotton crops participating their appropriate role for the purpose of making Pakistan a prosperous, it is regretted to state that neither standard seeds nor pure pesticide have been provided to the farmers for cultivation of cotton crops due to which cotton crop has been decreasing year alter year since past few years. The reasonable authorities do not take any interest and leave their entire responsibilities in vain and in consequences, fake pesticides and spurious seeds are spreading in the market for which no Proper control has since been made on the part of authorities concerned. In the absence of no such check and balance and action against the grabbers of inordinate provision of seeds and pesticides, they are not bothered and afraid about the dire consequence, hence continuously go through their ill-intended plan unabated.
In order to achieve the desired results, “the KCBE” urged the government to take initiative the following measures on war footing basis. A separate Cotton Ministry should be formed to look after the affairs of cotton trade exclusively and with a view to increase production of cotton in the country. Monitoring of the cotton should be made at district level.
It is essential to the boost of cotton industry that the supply of standard certified seed and pure pesticides to the growers should be ensured to achieve the desired results.
The Government should mobilized it’s all resources at Federal and Provincial level to bring more area under cotton cultivation, most particularly, in Baluchistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and increase yield per acre. The Government should ensure to product and supply of certified cotton seed/BT seed to the growers for cultivation.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022