20000227

KCA opposes

more TCP

involvement

in cotton market

KARACHI: Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) reacting on Chief Executive's statement about new cotton policy said further government intervention in cotton market would lead to disruption in the market however it may monitor the cotton prices to ensure that there was no gross disruption.

In a statement here on Saturday, KCA said its board of directors discussed Chief Executive Gen Pervez Musharraf's recent statement that Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) would procure entire cotton crop (2000-2001) from growers. KCA asked the government that the KCA should be given an opportunity to participate in the decision making in respect of new cotton policy so that its views were represented and considered before the policy was formulated.

The KCA always stood for a free cotton policy in respect of both exporters and importers and domestic marketing and firmly believed that free marketing mechanism was the best instrument for efficient marketing of cotton both domestically and abroad and to ensure that all sector of the cotton economy obtained a fair price in relation to international situation.

The free market mechanism has worked very effectively since the deregulation of export trade and automatic mechanism to regulate exports as well as the domestic prices.

KCA was of the view that any government intervention would lead to disruption in the market in which one sector or the other might benefit at the cost of the other sectors. It asked the government to play a role of watchdog to keep the cotton prices stable in the market.ÑPPI