MULTAN, April 10: National Assembly former speaker Syed Fakhar Imam has urged the government to fix minimum price of phutti at Rs900 per 40 kilograms for the cotton season 2002-2003.

Through a press statement issued here on Monday, he said cotton sowing had been started in Sindh and would start in the Punjab by the end of April. The government should announce the price of phutti so that the growers would not shift to other crops from next season, he added.

Mr Imam said the government had committed last season not to allow the price of phutti go down the official price of Rs780 per 40 kgs through the public sector intervention. But as a matter of fact the Trading Corporation of Pakistan did not intervene when phutti prices went below the minimum fixed price. As a result, the growers had to sell their produce between Rs600 and Rs700 per 40 kgs.

He said the production cost had increased considerably due to imposition of various taxes on farm inputs. Moreover, the use of insecticides increased due to heavy infestation of American bollworm (heliothis). The use of tubewell for irrigation due to scarcity of canal water has also increased the cost manifold, he added.

Mr Imam expressed the hope that immediate fixing of phutti price would encourage farmers to bring more area under cotton cultivation.

About the wheat procurement, he said the official procurement agencies should inform the growers about the exact location of procurement centres and the mechanism of purchase, such as, supply of gunny bags and the mode of payment.

He said all the details should be advertized in the national newspapers.”

He suggested the government to fix five million tons target for wheat purchase.

He urged the government to rationalize the power tariff on irrigation tubewell owing to acute shortage of canal water. This would result in in time sowing of all crops especially of cotton.