Sindh rejects cotton price fixed by Centre.

HYDRABAD -- The Sindh chief minister's adviser on agriculture, Manzoor Wassan, said on Monday that the provincial government had rejected the centre's decision of fixing Rs8,500 per maund (40kg) buying rate of cotton.

Addressing a balloting event for distribution of laser land levellers in Hyderabad, Wassan said the purchase price of cotton should be fixed between Rs10,000 to Rs12,000 per maund.

'The farmers will only cultivate a crop if they get a good price for it,' he observed, underlining the importance of the cotton crop for the export-oriented textile industry of Pakistan. He recalled that the cotton farmers of Sindh sustained colossal financial losses last year due to the torrential rains and floods. He argued that a good price for the crop is also necessary to incentivize such farmers.

He informed that the provincial government is spending Rs8.5 billion to provide financial support specifically to the wheat farmers who are being paid Rs5,000 per acre support. In the first phase the farmers cultivating up to 12 acres of land will receive the support...