Caretaker Federal Minister for Industries and Commerce Dr. Gohar Ejaz, says Punjab will receive record bumper cotton crop this year.
Addressing a press conference on World Cotton Day in Lahore today, he said that 8 million cotton bales are expected in this crop, and approximately three billion dollars will be saved in terms of foreign exchange.
He said the government will fulfill all requirements of the business community. He said that with the efforts of the caretaker Punjab Chief Minister record bumper cotton crop will yield. He said that with the help of the Caretaker Punjab Chief Minister, our business community will get indigenous cotton as raw material.
He urged the business community to achieve the exports target of 25 billion dollars from the textile sector.
He said that APTMA is ready to fund cotton research centers and will provide one billion rupees for research purposes.
He also demanded joint ventures with international research institutes.
On this occasion, Caretaker Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi said that the Punjab Agriculture Department played a vital role in achieving the record cotton crop.
He also thanked APTMA for guiding and providing valuable suggestions for the bumper crop.
He said that the Pakistan Army played a vital role in protecting the crop from larvae.
He said that the special meeting of the Punjab Seed Council has improved and expedited the process of seed approval and new varieties. He said that now, after approval from the federal government committee, there will be no need for reapproval from the Punjab Seeds Council.
He emphasized that we need to focus on seed quality for quality production.
He also stated that the Punjab government is taking indiscriminate action against sugar smugglers and hoarders.
