ISLAMABAD, Oct 1: The Federal Government has decided to ask managements of ginning factories to modernize their machinery by September 2004 to ensure production of lint cotton at par with international standards.

After that deadline, an official source told Dawn, a ginning unit that does not conform to the “ginning standards” would not be issued operational licence by the provincial government.

Questioned about the reason for this drastic action, the source said experts had spotlighted ginning sector as the weakest link in the value chain. Unless the processes used by these units were improved, all efforts to upgrade our cotton textile sector to a level where it can compete after abolition of textile quotas would be futile, he observed.

The modernization, studies had found, would not need more than Rs0.7 million. One of the major defects in the ginning industry at present was the use of defective sawgin that separates the seed from phutti.

Under the technical specifications, the saw must be replaced after production of two to three thousand bales. Instead of using new saw the ginners get its teeth sharpened. The teeth, however, get deformed in that process. The result: lint falls short of the quality, according to the experts.

Government charged the SMEDA with the task of improving the ginneries. With the help of a French consultant hired by the government, recently motivated three units - one each in Multan, Bahawalpur and Rahim Yar Khan - to undertake modernization within this year.

The units have initiated the necessary changes at their own expense under the technical supervision of SMEDA, according to the source.

During studies into the reasons for contamination of cotton, it was found that the bags made of jute/propylene, in which cotton is transported from the farmer’s field to the ginning factories too were a contributing factor. This happens when fibres of jute or propylene gets mixed with cotton fibre.

It has, therefore, been decided to ban the use of these bags. Instead, the farmers would be encouraged to transport their product to the ginning factories in open trolleys.

To be prepared by SMEDA, the new cotton standards would be monitored by the Pakistan Cotton Standards Institute and enforced by the provincial governments under their respective cotton control laws. It was also proposed to establish a ginning institute at Multan, which would provide training to the technical staff.