The federal government has finally decided to intervene in the Cotton market and directed the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) to buy cotton to stabilize falling prices and ensure the minimum support price.
Secretary of Agriculture Punjab Iftikhar Ali Sahoo chaired a meeting on Crop Management and Monitoring and said that TCP will soon start ensuring better compensation for cotton growers and the government will fulfill its commitment to maintaining the minimum support price mechanism, according to a national daily.
It is to be noted that the government announced Rs. 8,500 per 40 kg support price for cotton in March when the cultivation began and the step was hailed across the farming community and textile sector but since then, it has failed to ensure minimum support price as cotton is now being sold for as low as Rs. 6,500 per 40 kg.
Prices are also falling science the cotton crop has shown massive production this year and the targets are likely to be achieved.
The Secretary of Agriculture also ordered increased field inspection with divisional expert groups, cotton pest scouting, surveillance, and monitoring to control pest attacks as two months are critical in this regard. Although the weather is favorable and pest infestation is within economic limits so far.
Representatives from Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PGCA) told the Secretary of Agriculture that harvesting of early cotton sown in February is going, and production numbers are looking good so far with around 60 factories operational in the province and a record number of yarn reaching the ginning factories.
Director General of Agriculture Extension Punjab, Dr Anjum Ali endorsed the sentiment and added that while there have been some reports of Thrips attacks, it has not yet reached the Economic Threshold Level (ETL) and teams from Agriculture Extension and Pest Warning have been proactive in their efforts to control it.
