MULTAN, Nov 11: The All Pakistan Textiles Mills Association is importing 280,000 bales of lint from India.

About 4,000 bales have reached Pakistan via Wahga through train some five days back which are under the process of being cleared while another lot of 10,000 bales is expected within next 10 days, says Syed Muddabir Shah, a cotton consultant.

He said since India had a bumper crop of 29 million bales courtesy BT cotton, it had a lot surplus. According to the Indian ministry for agriculture, APTMA has ordered for 280,000 bales.

He said the import would hit the local stakeholders — ginners and growers.

Rana Qasim Noon, provincial minister for agriculture marketing, told Dawn that the government would protect the local growers in any case.

Clean development: The first-ever Clean Development Project Mechanism in the country is being installed in Multan.

Approved by the United Nations, the plant is being installed at Pakarab Fertilizer Private Limited plant site with the mutual collaboration of Mitsubishi Corporation Japan and Pakarab Fertilizer at a cost of 15 million dollars.The CDM project aims to reduce the global warming by treating industrial emissions and it would abate nitrous oxide gas at Pakarab nitric acid plant in accordance with Kyoto protocol, a global treaty to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.