Govt Should Take Measures To Enhance Cotton Production: PBIF

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd May, 2017 ) : Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF) Monday urged the government to take especial measures to boost cotton production in the country.

The forum also suggested complete ban on imports of cotton to encourage local farmers. "Continued collapse of cotton crop has discouraged cultivators who have started eying on other crops which can damage the cotton economy" President PBIF Mian Zahid Hussain said in a statement.

Mian Zahid Hussain said cotton economy was the backbone of the economy which should be encouraged at any cost.

He said around 15 million bales were needed in the country but the cotton belt could only produce 10.5 million bales paving way for import of 2.7 million bales from the neighboring country.

He said the government has decided to impose customs duty and sales tax on import of cotton in next budget which will discourage imports and encourage local planters. He said the LNG imports has resulted in surplus production of urea therefore increasing export limit by 100 percent to six hundred thousand tonnes and an extension of six months in export period is a good decision by the government.