APTMA–MNFSR Meeting: Moving Forward on the Pakistan Cotton Board

APTMA–MNFSR Meeting: Moving Forward on the Pakistan Cotton Board

A high-level delegation of the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA), led by Chairman Mr. Kamran Arshad, along with Secretary General Mr. Muhammad Raza Baqir and Cotton Advisor Dr. Muhammad Javed, met with Federal Secretary, Ministry of National Food Security & Research (MNFSR), Mr. Amir Ali Ahmed, today at MNFSR, Islamabad.

The meeting was held as a follow-up on the establishment of the Pakistan Cotton Board, as approved by the high-level committee chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister of Pakistan. The Federal Secretary briefed the delegation on the progress made so far and indicated that positive developments are expected within the next one to two weeks.

Chairman APTMA Mr. Kamran Arshad emphasized the urgent need to address the continuous decline in Pakistan’s cotton crop. He highlighted that inadequate research investment, limited access to advanced high-yielding and climate-resilient varieties, and weaknesses across the cotton value chain are putting increasing pressure on both farmers and the textile industry.

He stressed that Pakistan cannot sustainably continue spending valuable foreign exchange on importing huge quantities of cotton when the country has the agricultural potential, farming community and textile demand to produce quality cotton domestically.

“Our priority should be to support Pakistani farmers by enabling them to produce more, better and internationally competitive cotton here in Pakistan. APTMA is ready to work with the Government and all stakeholders to make cotton revival a national success.”

APTMA reiterated that the proposed Pakistan Cotton Board should provide inclusive and equitable representation to key stakeholders across the cotton value chain, bringing farmers, researchers, seed and technology providers, ginners, textile industry and relevant government institutions onto a common platform.

The vision is clear: revive Pakistan’s cotton crop through stronger research, advanced technologies and varieties, quality seed, better farm productivity, improved ginning and closer farmer–industry linkages — reducing import dependence while strengthening farmers, textiles and the national economy. CEO PCCC Dr. Khadim Hussain and Secretary PCCC Dr. Rao Muhammad Wali also attended the meeting.

Pakistan’s cotton revival requires collective ownership from seed to farm, farm to gin, and gin to textile.