KARACHI, Oct 2: The government has fixed the cotton standardisation fee at the rate of Rs5 per pressed bale with immediate effect.

This would be levied at the ginning stage, said a statement here on Monday.

It said that the government vide Gazette Notification (SED) No.1013 (I)/2006 dated September 29, 2006 has fixed cotton standardisation fee at Rs5 per pressed bale with immediate effect to be levied at the ginning stage. The decision to this effect was taken by the ECC of the cabinet on July 15 this year.

Every ginning factory shall have to asses and deposit the fee in the account of the Pakistan Cotton Standards Institute (PCSI) titled “Cotton Standardisation Fee” in the authorised branches of National Bank of Pakistan.

The levying of this fee would facilitate the implementation of cotton standardisation system for the production of standardised and clean cotton which would bring Pakistan cotton on a par with the international standards, enabling the country to fetch its real value in international market.

The fee would also support the strengthening of the PCSI, setting up a network of fibre testing laboratories and human resource development in the skill of cotton classing and grading.

The ministry of textile industry has already launched the clean cotton programme through 23 ginning factories in the country and 1,000 clean cotton bales have been produced till now in three ginning factories.

The other 20 ginning factories will start soon on arrival of seed-cotton. The target set by the government is to produce 100,000 clean cotton bales during the season.—APP