Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) has demanded of the Government to save the farmers and ginners from the exploitation of textile millers by introducing support prices of "Phutti" (raw cotton). Problem of low voltage in MEPCO and FESCO jurisdiction should be resolved which badly hit their machinery and electronic appliances.
Five percent General Sales tax be withdrawn on oil-cake to save the livestock sector. While Phutti prices posted a decline of Rs 700 per maund during the current crop season due to imposition of General Sales Tax (GST) on oil cake. Presently, phutti is being traded at Rs 2,400 to Rs 2,600 per maund in the domestic market compared to Rs 3,200 to Rs 3,300 per maund in June this year, when the new crop season got under way.
Addressing a press conference PCGA Chairman Mukhtar Ahmed Khan Baloch, Haji Muhammad Akram, Shehzad Ali Khan and Iftikhar Ahmed Baloch said that cotton trade was facing worst crisis because Oil mills are reluctant to buy oil-seed (Binola) on reasonable rate and demanding removal of GST. They urged the government to withdraw GST in the larger growers' interest as its imposition has slowed the sales of oil-seed and increased the prices of oil-cake, besides hurting the price of phutti. In this situation farmers/growers may face losses in the face of lower price and the crop cultivation may fall next year, they added. They said that what a pity that Pakistan was importing cotton from different countries by spending precious foreign exchange while it was a cotton producing country. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar also promised to withdraw this tax, however still no notification has been issued by the ministry of finance/Federal, Board of Revenue, they added. Lashing out at MEPCO and FESCO PCGA leaders said that two distribution companies were supplying low voltage electricity under a well planned conspiracy and ginners were facing huge financial losses due to low voltage but no one ready to hear our voice.