Cotton intervention price fixed at Rs 5,000 per 40kg

 

ISLAMABAD: The government has fixed the intervention price of cotton at Rs5,000 per 40kg to increase its output which has been declining for the past few years. 

Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, Minister for National Food Security and Research Syed Fakhr Imam expressed the hope that the news intervention price would encourage the growers to enhance the area under cotton crop and ensure the better return of their crop besides protecting them from being exploited. 

He said the federal cabinet in its last meeting approved the national food security and research ministry’s proposal of setting the intervention price of cotton at Rs 5,000 per 40 kg. 

The government has decided that if prices fall below that level, the intervention policy will be activated. 

The minister said the government was working on a cotton revival programme which would be introduced soon, and the primary objective of the programme would be to provide quality input for cotton, especially cottonseed and pesticides, in addition to the modernisation of ginning technology. 

Under the programme, he said, insect sterile technique and integrated pest management would be applied to control insects like whitefly and pink bollworm management besides modernisation of ginning technology. 

Mr Imam said that the procurement would be set as 90 per cent of the import parity price, and the ministry would constitute a ‘cotton price review committee which would monitor the cotton price in the country. 

This committee will direct the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) to start procurement if prices fall. 

He said the TCP would initially procure 200,000 bales of cotton and ensure that farmers get directly benefited from the procurement. This would help stabilise cotton prices in the country, he asserted.