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Cotton policy
for Balochistan announced
QUETTA -Commerce Minister Abdul
Razak Dawood and Agriculture Minister Khair Mohammad Junejo on
Friday announced Cotton Policy for Balochistan and assured
growers continuity of incentives.
Speaking at a joint press conference at Governor House here on
Friday, they informed about the government's plans to support
the cotton growers with a commitment to establish two more
ginning factories at Khuzdar and Lasbela.
The commerce minister said that one such ginning factory was
established in private sector in Nasirabad while the second
one was not ready for the cotton picking up. Consequently, he
said, ginning of Balochistan cotton was done in Sindh and
Punjab.
He said that the President during his visit to Naserabad last
year promised to provide incentives to the growers to
diversify the cropping pattern and switch over to cotton from
rice. On his instructions, the government provided 50 per cent
better quality cotton seeds to growers free of cost, Razak
said.
He said that the scheme was successful and the province
produced 122,000 cotton bales against the set target of
100,000 bales during the last season.
He appreciated the quality cotton produced in Balochistan and
suggested that the province should earn a big name in the
international cotton market by producing superb quality
cotton.
He said that after the successful cultivation in Nasirabad
district, the government has chosen four more districts of the
province for cotton cultivation which include Sibi, Kachhi,
Khuzdar and Lasleba.
He said that the best cottonseed varieties were selected for
Balochistan and they were Niab 78 and CIM 109 and the results
were very good. He advised the growers not to use pesticide,
chemical fertilizer, as it would contaminate the cotton
variety fetching a lowest price in international market.
"It would be on the pattern of Sindh and Punjab if the cotton
production is contaminated by any reason," Razak said. At this
stage, the Federal Agriculture Minister Khair Mohammed Junejo
intervened adding that it would contaminate the cotton variety
not for a single year but for three consecutive years.
Answering a question, the commerce minister said that last
year export of cotton fetched $200 million while this year it
could fetch only 10 per cent of that figure.
He announced that the government was ready to establish an
Apple Treatment Plant in the private sector and the government
would have a 80:20 per cent equity with the private sector.
"In any case, the apple treatment plant in public sector is
ruled out.
Dawood said that a storage facility would be developed at the
Quetta Airport for handling the fruit cargo meant for exports.
He took exception to the misuse of duty drawback facility by
some exporters of cement in Balochistan selling the cement
back into the local market. He said that such unethical
practices brought a bad name for the trading community and the
country as a whole.
He said that those businessmen who bring back American dollars
to Pakistan would be offered duty drawback facility and people
exporting goods in rupee would not be entitled to claim duty
drawback.
He deplored that discouragement to business climate by the
security forces other than Customs. He thought that there
should be no obstruction to free trade with Afghanistan and
Iran and negative elements should stop those acts.
Agriculture Minister announced that the incentives to cotton
growers would continue during the current season. He said a
research station had been established with the help of
researchers from Sakrand and Multan manning the Balochistan
station.
He said that the system of flood irrigation would have to be
replaced with a better system only to conserve water resources
and bring more areas under cotton cultivation.
Junejo said the work on Rabi canal would be complete by the
year-end and 45,000 acres would be brought under cotton
cultivation in Balochistan. He said a sprayer would be
reaching Balochistan in next 10 days improving the prospects
for better cotton crop next year. He said that the government
has fixed 150,000 cotton bales as production target for
Balochistan.
courtesy Daily Dawn , 6
April, 2002
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Pakissan.com;
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