KARACHI, Aug 1: The efforts to boost production of contamination-free cotton in the country have suffered a serious setback because of the obstinacy of the super-rich class of textile mill owners to pay premium on better quality. The government is now moving ahead with steps to iron out the conflicts within the textile sector and ensure a fair return to growers.

The growers and ginners were persuaded to produce contamination-free cotton in the last few years. But they are now disappointed and disheartened after failing to get the expected premium value of their efforts. “The growers and the ginners want an advance announcement of the premium on contamination-free cotton and assured marketing,” Textiles Industry Minister Mushtaq Cheema informed Dawn by telephone from Islamabad on Monday.

The cotton season is about to set in next month (September) and cotton will start trickling in the market in the next nine to ten days from lower Sindh. Reports suggest that the crop has largely remained unaffected from the recent rains. The growers are now gearing up to pre-empt the manipulations of Aptma to deny them what they claim to be their due and legitimate price on cotton and contamination-free cotton.

Apparently, the textile mill owners backed out from their commitments, which left the farmers and ginners in the lurch, forcing them to eventually discontinue the production of contamination-free cotton.

The textile minister said that task forces were formed in the federal commerce, industries and agriculture ministries which had given their separate reports. Each of these three reports has been prepared by the ministries in their own perspectives. The textile ministry has now prepared a report based on these three reports.

According to Mr Cheema, the report would be presented before the cabinet and it would also be discussed in the National Assembly.

Reports suggest that quite a few members of the National Assembly representing the growers are sceptical about the information given by the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association and they have sought accurate data and figures of production of various textile goods.

As cotton is about to trickle in from lower Sindh within next one or two weeks, the representatives of the growers in the National Assembly and Senate want to have full information about the consumption capacity of the domestic industry and are gearing up to demand permission of export right from the beginning.

Now that the government has allowed duty-free imports of wheat, vegetables and pulses, the growers are gearing up a demand for duty-free export of cotton to counter the pressure of the mill owners. Aptma last season manipulated to bring down cotton prices to the lowest level, forcing the government to instruct the Trading Corporation of Pakistan to buy directly from the farmers.

For the last more than 50 years the textile mills thrived on cheap cotton made available to them under the government policy. The textile mill owners are the biggest beneficiary of commercial banks’ loans and enjoyed the biggest amount of write-offs. In face of all tax reforms, the spinners hardly pay Rs150 to Rs200 million tax on their fabulous profits.

Aptma, according to the textile minister, had not responded to his three letters to give recommendations for the textile policy now under formulation. “Aptma will now complain of being ignored when the textile policy will be announced,” he remarked.

The textile ministry wants to frame a policy package for the entire textile industry that should take care from cotton production to end product and address all issues, including production, fiscal, marketing and inter-sectoral conflicts.

The minister confirmed that Aptma members were not providing correct information about the number of spindles to avoid payment of an insignificant amount of tax.

Responding to a question, Mr Cheema conceded that Pakistan’s textile industry did suffer in the last six months because of the price-war in textiles after dismantling of the textile export quota regime.

“We are addressing the issue and trying to compensate those who have suffered,” he added.