SUKKUR, Oct 27: Cotton growers of Sukkur and Ghotki have resented the role of the officials posted at the procurement centres of the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) to purchase lint cotton.

A large number of growers told this correspondent that the government had fixed Rs. 780 per maund for the phutti but the TCP officials were paying them Rs.720, thus depriving them of their eligible return.

According to growers, the per-acre expense of cotton comes to Rs.7000, while the yield is 13 maund an acres.

Besides TCP, another negative factor for the growers is the large scale purchases by the factory owners of Punjab who have swarmed Ghotki cotton field to lift the Phutti stocks at a rate of Rs.730 per maund.

These buyers are mixing the cotton of Ghotki with MNH 93 to earn profit. Bulk of the purchases are being made from Ghotki, the sources said adding that this situation has created a pressing situation for the growers.

The growers also complained that Rs.3 to Rs5.00 per kg is being deducted by the TCP on their lots which they termed as unjustified.