December 19, 2002	Thursday	Shawwal 14, 1423

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MULTAN, Dec 18: The Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) has expressed its inability to collect fortnightly figures of cotton arrival allegedly due to the non-cooperation of All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) and Karachi Cotton Association (KCA).

According to a PCGA press release issued here on Wednesday, the APTMA and KCA had signed an agreement with the ginners that they would contribute Rs0.1 million each per annum for the collection and compilation of figures about cotton production.

Later, the contribution of the each of APTMA and KCA was agreed to Rs0.175 million per annum. But this year, the APTMA had not paid its share despite the passage of four months of cotton arrival season. The release said several reminders had been sent to APTMA to fulfil its commitment, but to no avail.

It is said that PCGA’s central vice-chairman Sheikh Farooq Ahmed had raised the issue on various forums, including meetings with the Punjab governor and the Federal Agriculture Minister, in the presence of APTMA representatives but all the requests had turned a deaf ear.

It may be mentioned that during cotton arrival season, PCGA releases fortnightly reports about cotton production on the 5th and 18th of every month. The PCGA data sheet reflects the arrival of phutti (seed cotton), its pressing in bales, procurement by various buyers and the position of unsold stock lying with the ginneries across the country.

The fortnightly figures play an important role in the decision-making of different players of cotton market with regard to their business strategy in the light of the pace of cotton arrival.

The PCGA was due to release its second fortnightly report of cotton arrival of the current month on Wednesday.