PM Shehbaz approves Rs8,500 per 40kg as cotton support price
In a significant step aimed at facilitating cotton farmers, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday approved its support price at Rs8,500 per 40 kilograms. The prime minister while chairing a meeting of the Agriculture Task Force directed the authorities concerned to place the matter before the Economic Coordination Committee on priority. He urged the provinces to ensure the implementation of the new cotton price. PM Shehbaz described cotton as the backbone of the country’s textile sector and expressed the confidence that the step would help the growers in a considerable manner. The meeting was informed that last year, cotton production faced exponential reduction due to floods, heavy rains, shortage of canal irrigation water and the fertilizer crisis. This year, the meeting was told, the overall cotton production has been estimated at 12.77 million bales. Free wheat flour At a separate meeting, the prime minister decided that the federal government would distribute wheat flour among one million residents of Islamabad free of charge during Ramazan.