ISLAMABAD, Feb 16: Minister for Textile Industry Mushtaq Ali Cheema has said that the cotton production reached to 12.06 million bales up to January 31, 2006 as against the target of 12.7 million bales for the current fiscal year.

He stated this while talking to a delegation of Pakistan Cotton Ginners’ Association (PCGA) led by its chairman Mohammad Azam Warriach here on Thursday.

An official announcement said that the minister informed the delegation that the government had started the payment of premium to grower and ginners on producing contamination-free cotton.

Under the scheme, he said that Rs50 per maund would be given to growers on delivery of contamination-free cotton to ginning factories while Rs30 would be given to ginners on providing taint-free lint to the Trading Corporation of Pakistan. All payments would be made through the TCP.

The minister said that a committee had already been constituted for the purpose. He further said that the TCP would purchase all contamination-free cotton from growers.

He said that at some selected fields, the contamination level had decreased to 2.5 per cent from 18 per cent.

The minister said that at present 1,200 ginning factories were working in the country while 31 ginning factories had been selected for receiving contamination-free cotton from growers.

The delegation demanded the formation of a committee comprising PCGA and Aptma representatives for better coordination among stakeholders of the textile sector.