October 14, 2006	Saturday	Ramazan 20, 1427

ISLAMABAD, Oct 13: The government has decided to introduce state-of-the-art instruments and procedures to improve the quality of Pakistan’s cotton to "survive in the quality based international cotton market".

Official sources told Dawn on Friday five more cotton fibre testing laboratories to be set up in Punjab and Sindh to cover 70 per cent area under cotton which would pre-dominantly cater to the needs of cotton trade.

Assessing the current national scenario, they said, hectic efforts were urgently required to take timely action to compete in the international market.

To address the problem of low quality of local cotton, they said, only methodical approach could ensure the implementation of cotton standardisation system for the production of high quality standardised and clean cotton.

The increased used of instrumental classification would bring Pakistan cotton on par with the international standards, they added.

The objective is to shift over from prevailing traditional market system to quality based marketing system on the basis of grade, staple length and other fibre properties subject to premium and discount.

Post quota regime and open marker competition demands for qualitative improvements. Pakistan in order to compete in the global cotton market, sources said, will have to adopt modern day state-of-the-art procedures for quality impact and the increased use of instrumental classification will pave the pay to achieve the goals.

Presently, Pakistan is losing about $600m annually due to low quality and contamination in cotton. This has direct impact and immediate bearings on the value addition of the textile sector.

The setting up of five more cotton fibre testing laboratories will be equipped with latest model HVI’s. It will cover two cotton producing districts of Sindh and three in Punjab.

Three such laboratories were established at Karachi, Sukkur and Multan during late 1980s. Later, five more fibre testing laboratories were set up at Sanghar, Sukkur, Rahimyar Khan, Vehari and Multan under the Public Sector Development programme (PSDP).

Under the new programme, sources said, essential and accurate basic information will be provided to the stakeholders. The precise assessment of quality would determine the financial output share even at the grass roots level, leading to efficient quality based marketing and processing consequent upon value addition in textile made-ups. The decision would ultimately be boosting the economy, sources added.

The setting up of a network of cotton fibre testing laboratories would provide training facilities in the skills of Instrumental Classification. The trained fibre technicians would be eligible for employment as the scope is tremendous in ever increasing textile industry.

It would also help in enhancement of cotton quality ultimately to be placed in the "A" Index of pricing mechanisms from "B" Index at present. There is a difference of 3 to 5 cents per pound between both the indices.

On a quantum of production of 10 million bales of cotton per year, which calculated on difference of indices only, an additional earning of millions of dollars would be expected only in the case of raw cotton and if the same is calculated on the value added goods of cotton, the earning will rise much more.

The government believes that setting of these new laboratories network is expected to ensure supply of cleaner and uniform raw material to the domestic textile industry on the one hand and sizable addition in foreign exchange earnings on the other hand which would enable rich financial dividends to the growers, ginners and spinners, ultimately uplifting socio economic conditions.