ISLAMABAD, Sept 8: A special committee has been formed to prepare a strategy for obtaining contamination-free cotton from growers and ginning industries as part of a clean cotton programme. The Secretary, Ministry of Textile Industry, Syed Masood Alam Rizvi, will head the committee.

This was decided in a meeting held here on Thursday with Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar Khan in chair to discuss the issue of contamination during the process of producing cotton.

The other members of the special committee are secretary of food and agriculture, joint secretary commerce, agriculture secretaries of Punjab and Sindh, representatives of Aptma, ginners’ association, growers, the Pakistan Cotton Standard Institute and textile commissioner and other stakeholders of the textile sector.

The commerce minister said the issue of contamination was the most important issue and the committee should propose a strategy that what measures were required to obtain contamination-free cotton from the field.

He said the government was seriously considering launching a scheme of payment of premium to the growers and ginners on producing contamination-free and clean cotton.

Masood Alam Rizvi said the ministry was working on a plan to establish five fibre testing laboratories in various cotton growing areas of Punjab and Sindh for the promotion of clean cotton production.

He pointed out that all cotton ginning factories would be registered with the ministry of textile industry for a better coordination regarding the development of this sector. He said all ginning industries would be upgraded and the government would provide all possible assistance to them.

The secretary said that it would be ensured that all the ginning factories must have modern and updated machineries for handling of cotton, with a proper place for keeping cotton safe from contamination.—APP