Kissan Board concerned over ginning factories\' closure

Tag : ginning cotton
FAISALABAD (August 03 2008): Pakistan Kissan Board has expressedgrave concern over the strike of ginning factories for indefiniteperiod and said that this strike would not only yield negativeimpact over the textile sector but would also badly affect cottongrowers, who are busy in first picking of the crop.

Talking to newsmen, Zafar Hussain, President of Pakistan KissanBoard (PKB) strongly demanded that the government should accept thegenuine demands of the ginners immediately, who were fighting notonly for their own survival, but also for saving investment ofbillions rupees in textile sector in the best interest of thecountry.

He alleged that the present government is adding fuel to fire bynot issuing working licenses to the ginning factories. It meansthat Government machinery is not willing to run the industry andmysterious government policies are forcing industrialists to shuttheir factories, he added.

He said that the ginners' strike has come at a time when the firstcrop picking has started. If the crop is not timely processed orginned, the cotton farmers would suffer in financial devastatedcircumstances. He asked the government that when ginning processeswould not be available, how and where the cotton farmers would taketheir produce in this rainy season?

It is a clear-cut mysterious plan against the cotton farmers,ginners, textile industrialists and exporters of the country. Hesaid that it is worth mentioning that India is not selling cottonto Pakistan on one hand, while Pakitan's high-ups are gettingforeign exchange from India in cotton trade, on the other hand.Zafar said that the overall situation would ruin the cotton growersas well as create bankruptcy in textile industrial sector.

Muhammad Akram, Chairman, Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association(PCGA), said that the government's economic policies are notsupporting the ginning industry and step-motherly treatment making400 ginning units sick out of the 1200 units.

"Our working licences have expired on July 31, and agriculturaldepartments are not renewing these without payment of the ResearchCess. This situation is very clear that some hands are stoppingginners function and forcing them to go for strike," he added.Talking to newsmen at Chechawattni, and he made it clear that "weare not in a position to continue our ginning process in theabsence of working licence".

Copyright Business Recorder, 2008