TCP not buying pressed cotton: Aptma resents govt policy
By Sabihuddin Ghausi
KARACHI, Oct 20: The textile mills have accused the government of an inappropriate cotton buying policy. They assert that the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) is entering in to buying contract of cotton which is yet to be pressed in the ginneries and hence is distorting the market.
"We have procured 2.8 million bales out of three million bales of cotton pressed till Saturday last", Saeed Asif, the Chairman of the All Pakistan Textile Mils Association (Aptma) informed Dawn by telephone from Lahore on Wednesday evening. He quoted figures to show that the TCP has contracted purchase of 275,000 bales of cotton when there are only 200,000 bales of pressed cotton is present in the ginneries.
Syed Masood Alam Rizvi, the Chairman of TCP confirmed that his organisation has concluded procurement contracts for 275,000 bales of cotton and intends to continue procurement till cotton prices are stabilised.
Market sources anticipate TCP procurement drive for half a million to 750,000 bales of cotton as the government has placed Rs9.6 billion funds for this purpose. The TCP Chairman said that his organisation has enough warehousing capacity - up to one million bales - for the cotton in the country. The Korangi godowns can accommodate 0.4 million bales, 0.1 million bales in Multan, and there is unlimited capacity in Pipri-Landhi godowns.
The Aptma leaders gave vent to their anger on Monday in the meeting of the Inter-Ministeral Committee on cotton procurement when the ministers and officials indicated of exploring export market for the procured cotton.
"How can government export cotton at lesser prices to our foreign competitors than what we have purchased here," the Aptma Chairman argued and said that he made this point loud and clear in the Monday meeting at Islamabad.
The Monday meeting of ministers committee has asked the TCP to double its per ginnery limit of cotton purchase to 2,000 bales from 1,000 bales throwing broad hints that the government is set for an all out purchase.
"Hardly 50 per cent of about 1,000 ginneries in Punjab have signed cotton contracts with us," the TCP Chairman said to explain that it was not necessary to buy 2,000 bales each from about 1,200 ginneries active ginneries in the country.
Ginneries have reported arrival of about 3.6 million bales of cotton till Saturday. About 2.1 million bales of cotton arrived till October 1 and 1.4 million bales during last fortnight. These figures show arrival of more than 52 per cent of cotton this season than compared to last year. There is a lot of guess work going on the size. The growers and ginneries prefer to suppress the cotton production figures by traders and textile millers estimate around 13 to 14 million bales of cotton.
The Aptma Chairman Saeed Asif has put textile industry's requirement of cotton at 13 million bales because of the substantial rise in the spinning capacity and investment.
Dewan Abdul Khaliq, chairman of Aptma Sindh-Balochistan Zone believes that confusion on cotton crop will not dampen the production tempo in the textile industry. He was confident that textile industry will show much more improved production, both in terms of quality and quantity this year and earn more than $9 billion from the export market.
Most of the textile products have shown improved per unit price in the export market during the first quarter of this fiscal year, which will be maintained during October-December quarter, Dewan asserted.
Market sources indicated that the government intends to convene the cotton crop estimation committee meeting sometimes in the first week of next month. The crop survey is being carried out by the Pakistan Central Cotton Committee.
