ISLAMABAD, Sept 25: The government has appointed a permanent high powered Pakistan Standard Cotton Board (PSCB) to set clean cotton standards and later certify its quality acceptable to international markets like Liverpool Cotton market.

A senior commerce ministry official told Dawn on Wednesday that a decision to this effect was taken in principle by the federal cabinet and formal announcement would be made jointly by ministers for commerce and agriculture Abdul Razak Dawood and Khair Mohammad Junejo respectively here on Thursday and explain salient features of the Cotton Standard Ordinance.

The board would comprise three ministers of finance, commerce and agriculture, besides representatives of Balochistan, Punjab and Sindh, Trading Corporation of Pakistan, Pakistan Cotton Committee, Pakistan Standard Cotton Institute, All Pakistan Textile Mills Association and three growers one each from Balochistan, Punjab and Sindh.

The board would have two offices in Karachi and Multan and would be headed by a full time chairman from amongst the growers for a term of two years.

The sources said that board would introduce standardisation of cotton and recommend measures for contamination-free cotton.

The board would also certify the quality of cotton in the later years so that Pakistani cotton should not be subjected to quality and standardization checks by the international consultants.

This means that the board would certify that it met all international standards for various qualities and specifications of the cotton, which would be acceptable in the Liverpool Cotton Market.

Due to lack of standard specification and certifications, Pakistan has to pay heavy amounts to foreign consultants for certifications and most of the time Pakistani cotton is treated as third grade cotton in the international market due to minor contaminations.

The government is now concentrating on exporting contamination free cotton and has specifically declared three districts in Balochistan, Southern Punjab and Sindh as contamination-free ginning areas.

A two member committee comprising minister for commerce Abdul Razak Dawood and food minister Khair Mohammad Junejo was constituted on July 28 this year that interacted with all the stakeholders before finalization of the proposed ordinance.