MULTAN, May 3rd: Prime Minister's advisor on commerce, industries, Textile and investment Abdul Razak Dawood has said that ginners should play their role to supply contamination free cotton to buyers and to enhance the per acre yield to achieve the target of 15 million bales.He said that Pakistan is the fourth largest producer of cotton after China, India and the United States and has about 8.7% share in world’s cotton production.Talking to the ginners at PCGA house ,the advisor said that the ginning industry is considered to be the backbone of the textile sector and plays a significant role in the economy. He stressed the need for modernisation of ginning industry because Pakistan produces best quality cotton, but Ginners use obsolete technology, old machinery and untrained labour force, resulting in low profitability and efficiency.He said that PTI government believes in providing incentives and ease of doing business in a conducive environment.Since Agriculture is the most important sector of Pakistan as it provides raw material to the industry and contributes 21.4% to the GDP. It employs 45% of the labour force and is the most important source of foreign exchange earnings.In the ginning process, fibre normally constitutes 33%, seed 59% and trash 8% of the cotton produced. This level of trash is high compared to other countries, causing a huge loss to ginners.Lack of application of standards and ginning practices as well as poor management also dog the industry. Ginners, who have no role in the price-setting mechanism, face some major problems in getting a fair price. PM's advisor assured that problems confronted by the ginners would be resolved and invited them to Islamabad for detailed discussion on their grievances. Briefing the advisor PCGA's Vice Chairman Mehr Muhammad Ashraf Mahar said that Government should provide financial assistance to ginners for the modernisation of industry and Government should introduce a constant cotton policy to protect the interest of growers and to ensure fair return of his produce.He said that import duty & sales tax on the import of cotton should not be for a particular period but it must be for whole year.He contended that imposition of Cotton Standardisation fee on ginners is unjust because Pakistan Cotton Standard Institute(PCSI)was not providing any services to ginners or growers. He reiterated his demand for clearance of Tax-refunds to meet their financial crunch. He expressed his reservations on the attitude of textile millers who are reluctant to pay their dues and suggested that Ministry of textile should play its role to clear their arrears.Mahar further said for adopting modern technology, necessary steps must be taken to support ginneries in shifting from old roller-type machines to saw-gin system. Owners of ginneries, who have got higher education, are found to be more efficient compared to those who have less education. Hence, the government and policymakers should start some training programmes for efficiency improvement. The discussion was also joined by Haji Muhammad Akram, Sheikh Muhammad Saeed, Suhail Mehmood Haral, Sheikh Muhammad Aasim Saeed,Malik Talat Suhail ,Khalid Hanif Lodhi, Rao Sadaruddin, Khawaja Muhammad Azam, Khawaja Riaz Siddiqui,Ch.Khalid Bashir , Mian Tariq, Sheikh Tahir Rashid ex-MNA, Khawaja Muhammad Shaoaib and Asif Khalid Secretary General.
