A meeting of textile ministry was held on December 28 with stakeholders of cotton trade including industry, Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) and cotton exporters to agree on no TCP intervention in free market mechanism. Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP), therefore, is not likely to intervene, as the ministry was convinced by participants. It may be noted that the proposal of PCGA for lifting their remaining cotton stocks through TCP amidst falling prices was pending with textile ministry.
Participants of the meeting argued that as of 15th December 2011, as many as 11 million bales of cotton had arrived, which would further increase by 31st December 2011 to around 12.2 million bales. They pointed out that crop lifting data suggests that 95 per cent of the cotton crop, estimated to be 12.58 million bales, would be out of the hands of cotton farmers. Therefore, intervention would not yield any benefit and if so, it would benefit only cotton hoarders, APTMA Chairman Mohsin Aziz said.
Cotton prices surged abnormally to $2.2 per kg last year but APTMA did not ask for government intervention for a single day and instead fought for continuity of free market mechanism, he added. Right now, he further added, fall in cotton prices is a global phenomenon and APTMA has nothing to do with tumbling cotton prices; therefore PCGA’s propaganda of manipulation the market by APTMA was baseless. It is not manipulation but specula- tion of a few ginners that has created fuss recently, he said. He said TCP’s intervention, if inevitable in any case, should be broad-based and APTMA should also be allowed to bid for TCP’s tender against 4.5 million stocks with industry at present. There should be an equal opportunity for every stakeholder to avail the opportunity at the cost of exchequer and no discrimination should be made by government, he added.
