ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan government
is likely to announce a Rs10-billion research development fund in an effort to
boost cotton production next season as the harvest remains unimpressive for the
past few years.Talking to The Express
Tribune, a senior government official disclosed that a high-level meeting on
Wednesday tried to prepare a plan for enhancing the production of cotton that
had been virtually stagnant for the past few years sparking concerns among
government circles.
Representatives of major cotton-producing provinces – Punjab and Sindh –
attended the meeting held at the Planning Commission. Other stakeholders were
also present.Cotton production has been estimated at 11.1 million bales in the
ongoing season against the target of 12.6 million bales. The harvest was even
lower at 10.7 million bales last year.In the huddle, the idea of creating the
research development fund was floated which was welcomed by Punjab and Sindh.
Elaborating, the government official said it was a 10-year plan, which would be
sent to the federal cabinet for approval. It is likely to be formally announced
in next fiscal year’s budget in May this year.Under the plan, the government will spend Rs1
billion every year on research activities to find out ways of increasing the
production of cotton, which feeds the massive textile industry of Pakistan.The
plan came after spinning mills went to court challenging the cotton cess
amounting to Rs400 million that they had been paying every year for spending on
research work.
However, for the past two years, they had
refused to contribute and went into litigation with the federal government.According
to the government official, it was decided in the meeting that the research
fund would be disbursed in the form of competition grant to the researchers.In
recent years, the cotton plantation area has shrunk in the wake of setting up
of sugar mills in the cotton zone of south Punjab.Absence of a support price has also pushed
cotton farmers towards planting other crops such as wheat and sugarcane for
which the government has been announcing support prices to ensure a fair return
to the growers.
Cotton farmers have not been able to notch up satisfactory earnings and have
switched to sugarcane cultivation in areas where sugar mills have been set up.Country’s
economic managers had decided last year to frame a national sugar policy in a
bid to secure the cotton belt that had come under threat from the growing
number of sugar mills and planting of sugarcane in such zones.Almost 70% of
sugar mills are located in the core cotton zone of the country, especially in
Punjab. The presence of mills in top cotton-growing areas and their increasing
crushing capacity have caused a 26% decline in cotton-sowing areas, especially
in south Punjab including Rahim Yar Khan and Muzaffargarh.
The Ministry of Textile Industry has also demanded that provinces should stop
granting permission for establishing new sugar mills in the cotton-growing
areas.In the meantime, sugarcane cultivation has increased in the wake of
improved returns and timely supply of inputs. Simultaneously, the prices of
sugar have also gone up from Rs31 to Rs68 per kg over the past 10 years.According
to the Ministry of Textile Industry, the higher sugar prices have been an
attraction for setting up more sugar mills, which went up from 45 to 85 across
the country. Of these, 45 were located in Punjab, 32 in Sindh and eight in
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
Source: Pakistan Observer, Pakistan Friday, 19 January 2018