For providing the much needed facilities to the textile industry, the government has laid the foundation stone of the textile city. This project will cost Rs10 billion and the city is dubbed a ‘hassle free’ city. The city will be jointly administered by the private and public sector. About 1,250 acres have been allocated at Port Qasim for the project. Plots will be provided at concessional rates.
The amount allocated for the textile city has also been handed over to the private sector. This amount will be utilized through a board. Besides the textile city, three garment cities are also planned. Work on one of the garments cities has already started in Lahore. Those associated with the textile sector have continuously been demanding privileges, besides abolishment of various kinds of taxes. They maintain that if the government abolishes the taxes and provides them the demanded subsidies, they will be able to compete in the international market. But those associated with the textile sector have failed to tell what they will be giving back to the nation in return for the privileges and concessions they are demanding at the moment.
Some circles believe that these businessmen took privileges and concessions during the Benazir government on the plea that they will double the exports of textile products. After this, a surge in exports of textile products was witnessed just for a brief period of three months, and then again the exports level came down. Some circles are of the view that these businessmen neither try to explore newer markets for their products nor do they improve the quality of products by engaging in research. Due to this lack of improvement in the quality of their products, their goods are unable to compete in the global market. To add insult to injury, they do not even reduce the level of profit. Experts are of the view that the incentives those involved in the textile sector have sought from the government are for the sake of maintaining their profit level. In textiles, cotton serves as raw material and it shares most of the cost of the textile products.
An American variety of cotton ‘Pema’ is used in this respect. In the past few years, a continuous rise in its price is notable, and that is the reason that Pakistan has started importing ‘Long Staple’ cotton from China and India. A lot of research has been done on cotton in India and its quality has been upgraded to a considerable extent. In India, cotton is cultivated over some 9 million hectares, which is 25per cent of the total world’s area under cotton cultivation. In India, the number of farmers engaged in cotton cultivation is a staggering 4 million. In addition to this, there are thousands involved in cotton picking, ginning, processing and textile mills.
In 2004-05 the total cotton production in India was 4.13 million tons, whereas its national demand was 3.26 million tons. India exported that excess 0.87 million tons of cotton. Similarly in 2004-05, the global cotton production was 26.19 million tons that leaves India with a share of 16 per cent.
Compared to India, the total cotton production in Pakistan was 2.46 million tons and the demand was 2.34 million tons. In the same year, China produced some 6.31 million tons of cotton, whereas its national demand stood at 8.38 million tons. Similarly, in the US, 5.06 million tons of cotton was produced and its demand stood at 1.41 million tons. The reason for decreased demand of cotton in the US was the fact that the US had moved its textile mills to Mexico and some other countries.
The countries that produced a significant quantity of cotton include Brazil, 1.28 million tons; Uzbekistan, 1.13 million tons; and Turkey, 0.9 million tons. In India, ‘Ball worm’ badly damages the cotton crop. The problem results in incurring an annual loss of $300 million. Since the ‘90s, research is being carried out in India to counter the problem. Ball worm is one of the 162 various types of diseases that affect cotton. In India, extensive research is being carried out using genetic engineering and technology. The cotton produced through such a process is known as Bacillus Thuringlensis or BT cotton. This variety doesn’t require much of insecticides. This variety has resulted in better crop and yield as well as lesser expenditure on use of various kinds of sprays.
Initially in India, cotton varieties BT 12, 162 and 184 were allowed. In 1996, seeds were imported from the US and were crossed with Indian cotton. During 1996-98, various areas were selected for cultivating cotton and multiple studies were carried out. During 1998-99, BT cotton was grown on 40 different areas. In the year 1999-2000, this cotton variety was grown on experimental basis on ten different areas in 6 different states. In 2001, the variety was grown over 100 hectares. This variety of cotton is gaining a lot of popularity among the Indian farmers. That is the reason that the area under its cultivation has reached 1.3 million hectares. Keeping in view the recent research on BT cotton in India, it is expected that this variety will take over the US variety by 2015.
On the other hand, Pakistan is still unsuccessful in the production of pollution free cotton what to speak of large-scale production of BT cotton variety. Similarly, the new curbs on exports will also affect Pakistan cotton exports.
