June 2007
June 27, Daily Times	MINFAL to establish AEF for joint ventures Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (MINFAL) will establish an Agribusiness Equity Fund (AEF), which is aimed at entering into viable joint ventures with local and foreign investors in agribusiness. The Programme worth Rs 5 billion Agribusiness Investment Promotion Project (AIPP) is to promote equity participation in strategic and viable agribusiness ventures through an existing venture capital company
June 27, Business Recorder	Amended Seed Act summary to be moved to cabinet soon The Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department has finalized the changes and it has already sent a summary to the Minfal, which will send a detailed summary to the cabinet for final approval. The new law will shape the future development of seed supply system in Pakistan. They will help the private sector in developing domestic seed industry and delimit the space for exercising farmers' seed rights.
June 20, The News	Substandard seed to cause drop in cotton yield Unavailability of quality seed has caused at least 20 percent less owing of cotton this season. Seed companies are selling substandard seed with the connivance of provisional govt. officials sources told.
June 19, Daily Times	Cotton imports from India allowed The Ministry of Commerce has allowed the imports of long staple cotton through land route from India on Monday. The import of long staple cotton through land route from India would reduce the cost of import and would help the local textile industry to enhance its production and its value-addition for increasing the textile export.
June 18, Business Recorder	BT cotton sowing plan in doldrums Government plan to officially start the BT cotton swing is in doldrums after the environment ministry rejected the Bt cotton variety developed by NIBGE
June 14, Daily Times	Cotton import on the rise The figure of cotton imports is climbing up every day and about 47,500 bales of raw cotton have already arrived in the country while more imports under May orders are in the pipeline. A lot of cotton is already being imported from India as it is of good quality. At current price levels, importing Indian cotton is a workable proposition, instead of going to New Zealand and Australia,"
June 11, The Nation	Agricultural Biotechnology: Meeting the needs of the poor The federal government has fixed cotton-sowing target at 14.14 million bales for 2007-08 on 8.031 million acres in the country. Cotton will be sown around 6.326 million acres in Punjab and 1.581 million acres in Sindh. NWFP and Balochistan will share the remaining 0.14 million area for cotton production. Virus attack on cotton crop in Sindh and Punjab is likely to affect the production targets for 2007-08, growers and traders said.
June 7, Daily Times	Pakistan import 787,000 bales worth Rs 30 billion The imports from India stood around 178,800 bales of raw cotton during this period. According to Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS) the mills and spinning units imported around 0.357 million bales during August to May 2007.
June 02, Daily Times	Virus attack on cotton crop in Sindh, Punjab The federal government has fixed cotton-sowing target at 14.14 million bales for 2007-08 on 8.031 million acres in the country. Cotton will be sown around 6.326 million acres in Punjab and 1.581 million acres in Sindh. NWFP and Balochistan will share the remaining 0.14 million area for cotton production. Virus attack on cotton crop in Sindh and Punjab is likely to affect the production targets for 2007-08, growers and traders said.
June 01, Business Recorder	NA body takes note of low quality Bt cotton import The NA standing committee on agriculture has taken a serious notice of the illegal import of low quality Bt cotton seed in a meeting. MINFAL highlighted that the low standard Bt seed may result in several viral infection destroying the crop.