August 1, 2002	Thursday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 21,1423

KARACHI, July 31: All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma) has taken strong exception to a demand of imposing import duty on raw cotton and also bringing free trade policy for cotton to an end.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the chairman, Aptma, Nadeem Maqbool said any change in policy at this stage would destabilize the cotton economy, which plays a crucial role in the country’s exports.

He said that the government has already announced the cotton policy including support price and free trade of cotton, which was approved by the Economic Coordination Committee as well as the President.

Nadeem Maqbool said that the new season is around the corner and at this time all stakeholders and the government should work towards a common goal—promotion of the economy—and not try to influence government policy.

He reiterated that Aptma was for protecting the growers interest but not at the cost of the textile industry, which is contributing in a meaningful manner towards enhancing exports and economic growth.

The import raw cotton by textile mills, he said, was not designed to hurt farmers’ interest but was only to meet their long staple cotton demand as well as to supplement their demand of contamination-free cotton.

With expansion in spinning capacity the cotton consumption in the country, he said, has increased significantly and there is a need to import cotton to meet industry’s demand.

Referring to cotton stocks, Maqbool said that certain quarters were indulging in floating the idea of high end season stocks and this had resulted in sending wrong message to farmers to reduce the sown area.

He said that the stocks of cotton with mills were sufficient for one month’s consumption and that the mills were actively engaged in procurement.

Citing an example, he said there had been sharp rise in cotton in the last one month and also that the new crop was selling at Rs1950 per maund which was above the support price guaranteed by the government.

The Aptma chief claimed that these quarters were trying to mislead the government but in reality the situation was totally different.