Value addition: Textile ministry to construct ginning research institute

Will also build business centres, model trading house in Multan.

MULTAN: The textile ministry has decided to construct a ginning research institute in Multan, for which it has allocated a budget of Rs1.7 billion. Multan, a division in southern Punjab, is known as the agricultural hub of the country. Multan accounts for 70% cotton production of the country.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Central Cotton Research Institute Director Dr Dilbaagh Muhammad said that along with the Rs1.7 billion provided for the institute, business centres will also be established for the cotton trade in southern Punjab. “We will buy six acres of land for the building, and we have finalised the location considering the availability and ease for research scholars of the university and different institutes,” said Muhammad.



A model cotton trading house in Multan will also be established by the Ministry of Textile Industry, which will monitor the progress of all business centres in southern Punjab. It will also fund both the model trading house and the business centres.

The board of directors of the model trading house will comprise representatives of farmers, ginners, traders and the district government. The textile ministry will head the board and keep the system operational, after taking all stakeholders into confidence regarding cotton prices. This will give stability to the cotton price and boost exports at an international level.

The business centres will provide one-window services for cotton sales and procurement. The centres will provide local cotton producers with an opportunity to trade in the international market, which will also attract foreign investors to the cotton business of Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 12^th, 2013.

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