Govt asked to buy and export surplus cotton

Country earned $13.8 billion from textile exports last year.

MULTAN: Cotton experts believe the country can increase its revenue from cotton exports in the current financial year despite the fact that the industry already accounts for more than half of total exports.

Total production of cotton is expected to be 15 million bales this season, Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association Multan Region Chairman Amaan Ullah told The Express Tribune, adding that maximum demand is 11 million bales from the textile industry.

The government should plan to purchase around three to four million bales from ginners and farmers and export the commodity, he suggested.

Textile exports rose 35 per cent to $13.8 billion in fiscal 2011 from previous year’s $10.2 billion, however, this was mainly due to an increase in prices of products.

The country may have to rely on increase in export volumes to sustain previous financial year’s export levels as cotton prices have plummeted to Rs6,000 per maund from highs of Rs14,000 per maund touched in the previous season.

Ginners and farmers have started to fear the worst as the textile sector is said to be not buying cotton, which brings them to the conclusion that the commodity will be wasted.

“The government should purchase excess cotton to financially protect ginners and farmers,” he said.

“The textile sector has united against us and cotton rates have been continuously decreasing in the market,” the chairman claimed. However, cotton prices are still attractive in the international market, he pointed out.

Dera Ghazi Khan Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Anis Khawaja said that the problem is low quality of cotton which has brought down its demand and prices. “The issue of low prices should be sorted out by PCGA itself,” Khawaja said.

The textile sector has always tried to strengthen the cotton ginners and farmers, said Khawaja, adding that the price will rise when demand and supply improve.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 25^th, 2011.