May 2007
May 31, The Post	Sugarcane cultivation in cotton belt areas banned The federal government has imposed ban on the cultivation of sugarcane in the cotton belt area, The Post has learnt. The federal government has fixed the cotton production target at 14.14 million bales for the new crop and the federal government has fixed cotton-sowing target at 8.031 million acres, 6.326 million acres for Punjab and 1.581 million acres for Sindh. NWFP and Balochistan will share the remaining 0.14 million area for cotton production.
May 26, The News	Poultry policy aims to achieve 20pc growth Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Friday approved new poultry development policy aimed at increasing the annual growth of poultry sector from the present 12 to 15-20 per cent using modern technologies in production and processing. He said the current 10-12 per cent annual growth of poultry sector was a result of steps taken by the government including reduction in tariff on poultry feed ingredients and medication, duty free import of machinery and equipment not manufactured locally and better credit availability to the poultry farmers.
May 26, Business Recorder	Biotechnological knowledge vital for women Comstech's scientific advisor Dr Anwar Nasim has told the female students if the Islamic University that biotechnology has great impact on every one's live. He said he technology would also help us to convert the form of local products and shape it for expert, thereby increase foreign earnings of he country.
May 23, Daily Times	Cotton import from India reach 3.5m bales The cotton import from India is estimated to be at around 3.5 million bales this season, due to a growing demand of textile and spinning sectors, traders said on Monday.
May 23, Business Recorder	Government urged to open short routes for cotton trade A meeting of the Raw Cotton Committee of the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce (FPCCI) held under the chairmanship of Sohail Naseem here on Tuesday discussed cotton policy and other related matters. Most of the members were present and proposed the government to open nearest roads or border routes to improve the cotton trade, which will definitely help in increasing the foreign exchange earning for the country.
May 22, Paktribune	Action Against sub-standard cotton seed sellers companies The interests of cotton growers will be protected by all means by taking action against seed companies/dealers for selling cotton seed with less than 65 per cent germination under Seed Act.
May 22, Business Recorder	Action Against sub-standard cotton seed sellers The interests of cotton growers will be protected by all means by taking action against seed companies/dealers for selling cotton seed with less than 65 per cent germination under Seed Act. This was said by Fayyaz Bashir, Secretary Agriculture Punjab while chairing first meeting of Cotton Crop Management Group (CCMG) held at Central Cotton Research Institute, Multan, said a spokesman of the Directorate of Agricultural Information here on Monday.
May 21, The Nation	Future of Bt cotton in Asia Cotton is a powerful engine for our economy growth; the cotton lint, cloth, yarn and garments are a big source of foreign exchange and accounts for around six percent of our GDP; cotton made ups and textile exports embrace more than $7.3 billion to the national economy which is around two thirds of the country's export earnings.
May 19, Business Recorder	Mealy bug serious threat to crop, vegetables Mealy bug is affecting agriculture, not only damaging the cotton crop but also the other crops, including horticulture, a senior official of the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock. According to Central Cotton Research Institute (CCRI), more than 100 species of plants other than cotton and vegetables were under the threat of mealy bug. A five-year project to control the insect attack is under preparation. It is estimated to cost Rs 494 million, the official said
May 19, The News	Pakistan 2nd largest importer of US cotton The US Agriculture Department's data reveals in the year 2000 Pakistan was placed at second last spot among top 18 importers of US Puma cotton. At that time, Pakistan imported 450,000 bales of 480 pounds compared to 4,770,000 bales imported by the EU, which was the largest importer of US cotton. China imported only 230,000 bales.
May 18, The Post	14.1m cotton bales target fixed Director Central Cotton Research Institute (CCRI) Multan, Muhammad Arshad said Thursday that Punjab is likely to produce 11 million bales while Sindh's output has been fixed at three million bales. The remaining 0.14 million bales cotton is likely to be produced by NWFP and Balochistan. He said that the federal government has fixed cotton sowing target at 8.031 million acres for Pakistan, 6.326 million acres for Punjab and 1.581 million acres for Sindh
May 12, Dawn	Bt Cotton: what the future holds Bt crops can help reduce poverty, promote rural development, strengthen trade and economic competitiveness, and encourage agricultural sustainability, even while delivering direct benefits to farmers and consumers while the environmental benefits of Bt crops which were insecticide reduction, soil conservation and enhanced productivity, and an enhanced sustainability
May 10, The News	Indian Cotton may be allowed through Wahga The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), which meets on Thursday (today) with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz in the chair, is all set to permit the import of cotton from India through land, particularly via Wagha border, and from Uzbekistan, also through western border entry points, to cater to the needs of textile industry.
May 8, Daily Times	Government urged to provide R & D funds for BT cotton sowing A senior trader Ghulam Rabbani said Monday the rules and regulations regarding sowing of Bio-tech (BT) cotton should be finalized as soon as possible to ensure that the sowing of BT cotton should not cause environmental hazards. He said there was need to invite all stakeholders to discuss procedure for registration of BT cotton and environmental protection concerns, national integrated pest management (IPM) Programme and selecting cotton varieties for NCVT