ISLAMABAD, Nov 7: The first meeting of Cotton Crop Assessment Committee on Thursday reviewed the status of the standing cotton crop and it was observed that the current crop had escaped any alarming situation on account of weather and inset pests.
Khair Mohammad Junejo, Minister for Food, Agriculture, and Livestock, presided over the meeting. The committee was constituted by the government to periodically review the cotton situation and assess the possible crop size.
The crop was sown on 2.72 million hectares as against the target of 2.9 million hectares. The crop growth and development was comparatively better throughout the cotton belt this season.
The minister, however, noting the less plant population in certain areas advised the Punjab government to motivate and educate the growers to adopt optimum plant population for better yields.
The committee also noted the encouraging response given by the farmers on the right bank of Indus (Larkana, Jaccobabad and Shikarpur) on switching over to cotton crop. The committee also discussed the seed cotton arrivals pattern and the prevailing seed cotton prices.
It was informed that the cotton arrivals on November 1 this year were of the order of 3.352 million bales or 2.3 per cent higher than the arrivals of 3.275 million bales reported on the same date last year. The committee also expressed satisfaction on the current better market prices against a depressed situation witnessed during the last season.
Taking stock of the situation and realizing that except for decline in areas sown all other factors remained favourable unanimously agreed that the cotton production in the country this year would possibly be 10.1 million bales on ex-farm basis.
The meeting was also attended by the federal secretary, Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock; Chairman, TCP; agricultural development commissioner; cotton commissioner; secretary, agriculture, Punjab; and the representatives of PCCC, PSCD, agriculture departments of Sindh and NWFP. The private sector was represented by Aptma, KCA, PCGA and the growers.