MULTAN, May 17: The Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association has appealed to President Gen Pervez Musharraf to order the Trading Corporation of Pakistan to procure 1 million bales of cotton.

Talking to newsmen on Friday, PCGA Chairman Abdul Rasheed Khan alleged the TCP was using tactics to keep cotton prices depressed.

It was evident from the corporation’s policy to procure cotton only in export packing, he added.

He maintained the corporation’s policy was in violation of the orders of the president and federal ministers for agriculture and commerce as all the three authorities had directed the TCP to procure cotton both in export and mill packing to keep market stabilized.

The growers’ confidence in cotton could only be restored with the early disposal of unsold stock of 1.2m bales lying in the ginneries all over the country, Mr Khan said.

He said ginners were unable to pay the outstanding amounts to growers due to the stocks they had yet to sell. Consequently, the growers were reluctant to sow cotton this year, he said.

The PCGA chairman claimed the corporation was offering Rs1,600 per maund of lint cotton against the official procurement price of Rs1,855.