THE Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association has urged the government to direct the Trading Corporation of Pakistan to purchase cotton from ginning factories.

Mr Arshad Islam, assistant secretary PCGA, said phutti is selling at much lower prices than last year, just between between Rs1,700 and Rs1,800 per maund in lower Sindh and between Rs1700 and Rs2,000 in upper Sindh.

Hakim Bashir Ahmed Channa, owner of Channa Cotton Factory, said last year he had purchased 120,000 maunds of phutty but this year he would hardly be able to purchase 60,000 maunds of it from Dadu area. The quality and production of cotton in Dadu was also affected during rains, he said.

Mr Channa said he was purchasing the crop between Rs1400 and Rs2,000 per maund. Better prices up to Rs2,200 per maund was being offered to growers producing better quality cotton. Supply of phutty was continuing from Jhallo, Amniani, Piarogoth, Jakhpari and Khudabad areas and so far 10,000 maunds had been purchased from growers and middlemen, he added.

A middleman Ahmed Khan said he was purchasing cotton from growers at Rs1,300-1,600 per maund on cash and disposing it of at higher rates.

The low cotton prices are creating huge financial losses to rain-affected growers in lower and upper Sindh, Allah Bachayo, a cotton grower of Jhallo area, Dadu district, said. He said he had cultivated cotton on 26 acres but crop on 15 acres was damaged. A 15kg bag of cottonseed required for two acres was available for Rs3,400. He had to purchase 13 such bags for his 26 acres plus 26 bags of fertiliser at the rate of Rs2,200 per bag. The protection of cotton crops against pest and dieses needed five-time spray. A bottle of pesticide costs between Rs800 and 1,200.

Mr Khan said his expenditure per acre stood at Rs40,000-42,000. But his earning from cotton crop was not enough to meet his investment in the crop. The loss on selling crop at Rs1,400 per maund at the hand of middleman was enormous. He said so long the prices would not be raised to Rs6,000-6,500 par maund, the loss he suffered during the last three to five years would not be covered.

Another grower Mohammad Usman said he had cultivated BT 11 and CM 506 cottonseed at his 20 acres in Jakhpari area. The yield usually was 40-45 maunds per acre but due to rains it was reduced to mere 14-15 maunds per acre this year.

He said that in parts of lower Sindh BT 11, 121, 123 were cultivated and the yield was between 55 and 60 maunds per acre. The climate in parts of upper Sindh like Dadu, Jamshoro, Naushehro Feroze and Nawabshah was hot hence cotton production was comparatively lower than in lower Sindh.

Abdul Nabi of Sanghar said that he had cultivated cotton on 30 acres but his entire crop was damaged rendering him popper and unable to clear his dues incurred on inputs.

A grower of Tando Bago of Badin district, Sain Dino, said that his 30 acers of cotton crop out of 60 acers were damaged and now the middlemen and cotton factory owners were not paying good prices for his produce. He said that he was selling lint at Rs1500 per maund. The factory owners were purchasing cotton at a very low price from growers to sell it at high rates to textile industries or will export it to foreign countries.

Ghulam Mohammad Panhwar, leader of small growers association and a cotton grower of Johi taluka, said that owing to damages to cotton crop in Sindh, the procurement target of 12.2 million bales would remain unachieved affecting exports and consequently foreign exchange.