MULTAN City News

‘Textile industry being destroyed by

promoting sugar industry in cotton belt areas’

From Our Correspondent

MULTAN: The Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association has criticised the bureaucracy for allegedly submitting wrong statistics to the government regarding cotton production.

Talking to newsmen here on Thursday, PCGA chairman Shahzad Ali Khan claimed that overall cotton production had declined to 5 million bales this year as compared to the last year. He said that the ginners and cotton growers were facing financial crunch due to the decline in cotton production but the bureaucracy had allegedly submitted fictitious statistics to the government. He demanded the government ban import of lint and yarn from India.

He said that the textile industry was contributing 50pc to the Gross Domestic Production but the industry was being destroyed by promoting sugar industry in the cotton belt areas of south Punjab. PCGA former chairman Suhail Mehmood Harral and PCGA member Chaudhry Waheed Arshad were also present on the occasion.

Meanwhile, the PCGA has issued the figures of cotton arrival up to March 1. Phutti equivalent to over 9,727,771 bales has reached ginneries across the country, showing a decrease of 33.85 per cent as compared to the corresponding period of last year when ginneries received 14,705,853 bales.

According to a fortnightly report of the PCGA, ginneries in Punjab recorded arrival of 596,127,734 bales with decrease of 44.50 per cent while Sindh ginneries recorded arrival of 3,766,037 bales while last year it received 3,964,187, showing a decrease of 5 per cent. Textile mills have bought 8,546,660 bales while exporters bought 361,241 bales.

The district-wise cotton arrival in Punjab: Multan received 129,476 bales (73.84 per cent less), Lodhran 97,437 bales (73.61 per cent less), Khanewal 402,794 bales (58.65 per cent less), Muzaffargarh 265,452 bales (45.75 per cent less), Dera Ghazi Khan 291,145 bales (40.6 per cent less), Rajanpur 405,237 bales (28.57 per cent less), Layyah 251,988 bales (36.25 per cent less), Vehari 310,150 bales (60.98 per cent less), Sahiwal 255,494 bales (56.17 per cent less), Pakpattan 66,478 bales (59.85 per cent less), Okara 22,148 bales (56.84 per cent less), Kasur 11,376 bales (46.47 per cent less), Toba Tek Singh 136,772 bales, Faisalabad 52,823 bales, Jhang 42,680 bales, Mianwali 342,689 bales, Bhakkar 82,759 bales, Sargodha 11,607 bales, Rahimyar Khan 1,113,630 bales (19.56 per cent less), Bahawalpur 739,603 bales and Bahawalnagar 928,796 bales.

The district-wise cotton arrival in Sindh: Hyderabad 250,607 bales (5.56 per cent less), Mirpur Khas 274,145 bales (31.28 per cent less), Sangarh 1,346,464 bales (10.62 per cent less), Nawabshah 312,622 bales, Naushero Feroze 283,084 bales, Khairpur 270,431 bales, Ghotki 320,362 bales, Sukkur 448,068 bales, Dadu 36,328 bales, Jamshoro 133,000 bales and Badin 31,645 bales while Balochistan contributed 57,045 bales. Total 47 ginning factories are operational in the country. Of them, 41 are Punjab and six in Sindh. Total 819,870 bales are lying in ginneries as unsold stock.