LAHORE, Oct 28: The government has allowed the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) to enter into contract for up to 3,000 bales of lint per ginnery at a time.

This was stated by Federal Agriculture and Food Minister Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan while chairing a meeting held on Thursday to review cotton price situation.

The minister claimed that the government had taken necessary measures required to stabilize the cotton prices. "For this purpose, the TCP has been inducted well in time to procure cotton lint from ginneries at Rs2,159 per maund or 37.324kg to enable growers to get the indicative price of Rs925 per 40kg of seed cotton," he was quoted to have stated at the meeting. He said the TCP had been allowed to procure unlimited quantity of cotton and it would continue its procurement drive to ensure that the phutti prices for base grade III did not fall below the indicative price.

The TCP, the minister said, had been provided adequate funds for its cotton procurement drive and to make timely payments to the ginners. He said the TCP would export cotton it was procuring, adding the corporation's warehouse in Multan had also become operational in addition to the one in Karachi.

Mr Bosan said an inter-ministerial committee, comprising himself, commerce, industries and textile ministers, was meeting once a week to review the cotton price situation for timely action to stabilize the market. The committee, which also includes growers, ginners, and textile millers, had been instrumental in activating cotton procurement operations.

Meanwhile, he disclosed that the Cotton Crop Assessment Committee would meet in Multan on Nov 6.