SUKKUR, Dec 6: Cotton growers of Sukkur, Ghotki, Naushahro Feroze, Nawabshah and Khairpur districts are facing difficulty because the Trading Corporation of Pakistan has stopped cotton procurement from these areas.
The TCP had not established procurement centres for purchasing cotton which had sparked a wave of anxiety among cotton growers of the area. Cotton growers from Sukkur, Pano Akil and Ghotki including, Nazar Chachar, Hizbullah, Mandhal Shar, Ghulam Nabi Indhar, Gulab Jatoi, and Paryal said the government had fixed price of cotton at Rs925 per maund but the TCP was not ready to purchase cotton at the rate.
They said that cotton worth millions of rupees was being grown in Ghotki, Naushahro Feroze and Nawabshah but poor growers were forced to sell their product to middle men, cotton ginners and whole sellers from Rs800 to Rs820 per maund.
They alleged that TCP officials after getting illegal gratification were purchasing cotton from influential people while poor growers had been ignored. They demanded that the prime minister should properly organize the TCP in Sindh and direct them to establish procurement centres.
Cotton purchase clarification
KARACHI, Dec 7: Apropos of a news item published in the Dawn issue of December 7, "TCP stops cotton purchase in Sindh", the Trading Corporation of Pakistan has said that the report is not based on facts.
According to a press release issued by the TCP, the corporation has not stopped cotton purchase in Sindh. In fact it is continuously buying cotton from all ginning factories of the country including those in Sukkur, Khairpur, Naushahro Feroze and Nawabshah districts of Sindh.
The TCP cotton procurement centres in Sukkur and Nawabshah have made contracts for procurement of 395,000 bales of cotton up to December 6, including contracts of 48,000 bales made during last week.
The TCP has contracted to purchase 3,400 bales from Nawabshah and 6,000 bales from Sukkur on December 6. The TCP does not buy phutti from growers. It buys lint cotton at the rate of Rs2,159 per maund from the ginners. Therefore, the question of the TCP buying phutti from growers, whether influential or otherwise, does not arise.
