MULTAN, Jan 28: A meeting of the cotton marketing and economic research sub-committee has called for indigenous research on evolving Bacillus Thurigenesis (BT) cotton instead of relying on exotic varieties.

Held at the Central Cotton Research Institute on Old Shujabad Road, the meeting was presided over by Agriculture Price Commission chairman Dr Abdul Islam. Prominent among the participants were Trading Corporation of Pakistan chairman Masood Alam Rizvi and Pakistan Central Cotton Committee vice-president Dr Ibad Badar Siddiqi.

Agriculture departments of all four provinces and stakeholders of cotton market, such as growers, ginners, spinners and exporters have a representation on the CMER sub-committee. However, neither any representative of the provincial agriculture departments nor of the spinners was present in the meeting of the sub-committee.

The meeting observed that though the BT cotton was assumed to have resistance against economically pernicious pests, the country had yet to make a breakthrough on this front as the performance of the research institutions working on this subject so far was not up to the mark.

It was observed that the exotic BT cotton would not only prove costly, but it would also increase reliance on multinational firms that marketed the BT cotton seed which was terminated after one sowing.

According to the sources present in the meeting, some of the experts also opined that the BT cotton had failed to produce desired results in India and Indonesia. Other items on agenda of the meeting were a discussion on cotton balance sheet, cotton market scenario of the year 2003-2004 and implementation of the cotton control acts in the provinces.

As the Aptma representative did not turn up to attend the meeting and the Textile Commissioner of the federal government was also absent, the debate on the balance sheet was put off for the next meeting scheduled to be held in March.

The meeting expressed satisfaction over the market conditions this year as the prices were maintaining a level almost identical to the international parity. The meeting did not receive well a report sent by the provinces of Balochistan and the NWFP on the comparative cost of various crops, and directed the agriculture marketing departments of the two provinces to resubmit the report.

Participants in the meeting criticized the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association for omitting weight of the cotton pressed in bales from its recent fortnightly reports on cotton arrivals in the country.

The PCGA representatives, however, reportedly claimed that the report was their 'internal' document and their association was not bound to give weight as well along the number of bales pressed.