Crop security: TCP to buy cotton after Eid says minister

Boson says he has warned APTMA that farmers will not cultivate cotton if they are not paid a fair price this year

MULTAN:

Minister for Food Security and Research Sikandar Hayat Bosan said on Friday the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) would start purchasing cotton after Eid.    

Addressing a press conference, he said the price of cotton was linked to the international market.

Bosan said he had warned the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) that farmers would not cultivate cotton next year if they were not paid a fair price this year.

He said the Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet approved cotton’s support price of Rs3,000 per 40 kilogrammes on their recommendation

He said purchase of cotton by the Trading Corporation of Pakistan would benefit small farmers who made up 97.5 per cent of the farming sector.

He said it had been decided to purchase one million bales in the first phase. Responding to a question, he said the government would extend Rs14 billion subsidy on potassium and phasphate fertilisers.

He said subsidy on nitrogenous fertilisers was also being extended.

To a question on support price of sugarcane, he said that it was the prerogative of the provinces.

He said he was holding meetings for removal of five per cent tax on oil-cake (khal).

The minister said the government had launched a crackdown against fertiliser companies responsible for creating inflating prices in the agricultural sector.

He said fertilizer companies would have to quote prices on their product bags to get subsidy from the government.

He said the government used to provide subsidy on fertilisers but it did not benefit small farmers.

“We will not let subsidies be wasted by through black markets and a fertiliser mafia,” he said.

He said Rs2,902 was the cost of cotton bail and the government had fixed Rs3,000 as a facilitating price to encourage farmers to invest in cotton.

He said the TCP could buy upto to 1.5 million bales depending on the needs of the country.

Bosan said negotiations had been held with Pakistan Kissan Ittehad and Pakistan Agri Forum who had held 23 protest demonstrations over the prices of cotton.

He the said Pakistan Kissan Ittehad had demanded purchase of 2 million bales by the TCP and a support price of Rs4,000.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 4^th, 2014.