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Ginners resent pressure to comply with fixed rate policy

KARACHI: Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (Sindh) Vice-Chairman Ali Mohammad Yousfani has expressed his deep concern regarding alleged administrative pressure on ginners to pay minimum fixed price of phutti (seed-cotton) to the growers.

In a statement issued here on Friday, Yousfani cited this to be unfair and un-justified.

Elaborating what he termed the grievances of the local ginners, the PCGA-Sindh office-bearer said idea of fixation of minimum support price of purchase of phutti was created when a third buyer for purchase of lint on a fixed price was ensured. He claimed that the federal government itself gave up this idea for the reason that no buyer was coming forward to purchase lint on the fixed price.

"Hence the market was left open to be governed on the theory of demand and supply, he remarked adding that pressures currently exerted on ginners to comply with a policy shelved along ago was arbitrary.

"We are prepared to pay minimum price of phutti provided that there is a buyer of lint cotton based on procurement of phutti, on any support price," Yousfani said.

He pointed out that there is also a problem of fixation of ginning expenses as these ginning expenses differ from factory to factory and area to area.

He in this context mentioned that in a meeting with the Director of Agriculture Extension Hyderabad on August 30, 1999, the ginning expenses were fixed at Rs 275 only last year adding "we had very reluctantly accepted these average-ginning expenses in the interest of growers and the country."

"Now these expenses are given a twist and are tried to be bogged down to Rs 210 which is justified," he complianed maintaining that while the cost of cotton-seed has been reduced to some Rs 200 against Rs 325 only last year no concession has been offered to the ginners.

He feared that any reduction in ginning charges and making ginners liable to pay any minimum price of phutti will create severe repercussions on cotton trade. APP