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Cotton policy in March

RECORDER REPORT

ISLAMABAD: Cotton policy will be announced in March to promote its production and protect the interests of growers, said commerce minister Razak Dawood on Thursday.

In the past, he said, cotton policy is announced very late in the Punjab and Sindh.

A committee, comprising stake holders in cotton, is working out a comprehensive cotton policy that would be announced well before the cultivation of this major cash crop, he said.

The policy will protect the growers from incurring financial losses in case there is bumper crop like this year, said the minister.

"The growers are unhappy over the crashing of prices of raw cotton as they have suffered losses, but in future this will not happen again", said Razak Dawood.

The measures like the prices stabilisation fund, government storages scheme, etc, are under consideration so that a policy is evolved to avoid such crisis in the future, he added.