MULTAN, Jan 17: The official drive to lead the country towards the complete production of contamination-free cotton seems to face cold response next year after the bitter experience of growers and ginners in Rahim Yar Khan district where the government initiated it this year with a lot of enthusiasm.

All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma) had long been demanding strict enforcement of cotton control act to ensure the production of either complete contamination-free cotton or less-contaminated cotton.

Recently, a stalwart of Aptma Gohar Ijaz carried out a study that revealed the country is suffering a loss of $1,426 million every year in the export of cotton and its made-ups only due to contamination in raw cotton.

The break-up of the loss for the export of various stages of cotton products is as: Cotton, $308m; yarn, $252m; fabric, $215m; hosiery $255m; readymade garments & made-ups, $392m.

Consequently, economic managers directed the provinces to take immediate measures to avoid losses in the export of cotton and its products.

To run it as pilot project, the Punjab government selected Rahim Yar Khan district, which is known for its fine cotton quality and produces around 1.3 million bales of cotton in a season. The government enforced the cotton control act strictly in the district through the agriculture department.

The ginners and growers also responded positively and followed the guidelines set by the government to produce the contamination-free cotton. There are some 127 ginneries in Rahim Yar Khan district. Each ginning factory has to install weigh-bridge with a cost of Rs1 million, besides constructing platforms to dump phutti before processing it for lint cotton.

The growers also used cotton cloths and open trolleys for bringing phutti to the ginneries. Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association estimated that a maund of contamination-free lint cotton would cost ginners an additional Rs70.

When contacted, PCGA chairman Sheikh Saeed said the government wanted to introduce the scheme in the whole cotton growing area next year but the treatment ginners and growers received in Rahim Yar Khan would prove injurious to the government pursuit. “Why ginners bear extra expanses if they are bound to receive the price of ordinary cotton,” he questioned.