The Minister said that it was in pursuance of this policy that the target of production of 33 lakh bales of cotton by the end of the Second Five-year Plan was fixed.

Mr Wahiduzzaman, who was speaking at the annual dinner given by the Karachi Cotton Association Ltd., at Beach Luxury Hotel, said: “It is a matter of satisfaction that this year’s crop indicates a considerable increase over past years.”

The Minister asked the cotton merchants to eliminate “too much speculation” to build the trade on healthy lines.

He said the trade conditions and “particularly the present system of forward trading are not satisfactory and leave much to be desired”.

He sought the Cotton Association’s cooperation to eliminate this and other defects.

The Government, he said, has recently made a big reduction in the rate of export duty on staple cotton from Rs75 to Rs25 per bale.

This, the Minister said, will increase the growers’ return as the Government has “the growers’ interest always in mind and is doing everything possible to improve their condition”.—Staff Correspondent