MULTAN, Sept 24: Growers and ginners have rejected the procurement price announced by the Trading Corporation of Pakistan as a measure to keep the cotton market stable during the year 2004-05.

The TCP has announced its lint procurement price at Rs2159 per maund (37.324kg) and Rs2314 per 40kg for base grade-III with staple length 1-1/32", micronaire 3.8 to 4.9 NCL and a maximum 8.5 per cent moisture contents.

Criticizing the TCP, Farmers Vision Forum chairman Khawaja Muhammad Shuaib said that the trading corporation should have fixed its procurement price in accordance with the international parity so that the growers could not be deprived of their due returns.

He said in the last two years the cotton growers fetched prices against their produce identical to that of international parity mainly because of the less production as against its demand. "This year when all the forecasts are for a healthy output the growers are being denied fair returns," he added.

He said the Liverpool spot rates at present were 56 cents per pound while the New York Future was at 51 cents per pound. He said as the hedge trading was not in practice in the country, therefore, one should compare the prices with Liverpool spot rates.

He said after depreciating 5 cents per pound on account of contamination and quality, the price of lint cotton in the country should not be less than Rs 2500 per maund (at the cotton seed price of Rs350 per maund) and the corresponding price of phutti (seed cotton) should be Rs1072 per 40kg while the TCP had calculated its rates at a phutti price of Rs925 per 40kg.

Leading progressive grower and former speaker National Assembly, Syed Fakhar Imam said that the prices of phutti had come down to Rs880 per 40kg while the picking had yet to be geared up. "The Pakistani growers are being robbed off Rs200 per maund of phutti at the international parity price," he averred.

He said the TCP had not entered the market physically and was just making statements as eyewash. Criticizing the government, he said on one hand the Prime Minister claimed that agriculture was among his top priorities while on the other he seemed to be least bothered about the growers whether they were getting equitable price against their output.

Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association chairman Haji Muhammad Ibraheem said that the TCP should announce its procurement policy clearly especially with regard to how many bales it had planned to procure this year. He said the trading corporation should procure at least one million bales otherwise its intervention would be useless.

He also criticized the corporation for what he said its delaying tactics both in procurements and paying the ginners' dues. "Not a single deal can be struck so far," he maintained.

Former PCGA chairman Sheikh Muhammad Saeed said that prevailing price of the lint in the domestic market was Rs2,150 per maund and the TCP wanted appreciation after announcing the same procurement price, that too, with the condition of export packing which would cost extra Rs50 per maund to the ginners. If the TCP was serious to stabilize cotton price, it should procure all grades of lint cotton on discount and premium basis