MULTAN: Punjab Minister for Agriculture Naeem Akhtar Khan Bhabha Monday said there were bright chances of fixation of good price of cotton crop this year.
He said cotton produced at home was also insufficient to meet the demand of textile sector. While talking to a delegation of farmers, the minister said that the world expects 22.9 million tonnes of cotton production this season whereas the consumption has been assessed at 24.3 million tonnes, said a press release issued by the media liaison unit of Punjab Agriculture Department.
He said Bangladesh and Vietnam are expected to witness five per cent increase in cotton utilisation this year. Bhabha disclosed that according to international cotton advisory, average price of a maund of cotton would be over Rs 3,500. To keep the prices stable in the domestic market, the provincial government was trying to get the cotton export banned during the cotton harvest season, he added.
He said that there were chances of reduction in cotton production in India and USA due to weather changes. He further stated cotton area has also been reduced to some extent in China adding that it may compel China to increase its cotton imports by 10 per cent. He said that China want to import cotton from Pakistan.
Bhabha said the Punjab government was spending Rs 335.82 million to improve the quality and production of cotton in Punjab. He urged farmers to improve quality and per acre production of cotton to attract premium price from the lucrative international markets.
He said that domestic price of cotton was low by Rs 500-800 per maund compared to cotton price in the international market.
He, however, added that improvement in quality can bring farmers extra Rs 200-300 per maund from the international markets. He said that the Punjab government was also making efforts for announcement of cotton support price to increase farmers’ profit.
