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Zambian farmers seek revival of Mulungushi Textiles
02 Jun '12
2 min read
The Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) has sought urgent revival of Mulungushi Textiles to bring stability in cotton prices and to improve its value.
ZNFU President Jervis Zimba said Zambian ginners now export lint without any value addition to the commodity.
About failure of talks between cotton growers and buyers over pricing disagreements, the ZNFU President said the domestic cotton growers are being exploited, mainly as the country falls short in adding value to cotton.
While ZNFU is seeking a minimum K 3,000 per kg of cotton, the ginners are only offering a price of K 2,000 per kg.
Mr. Zimba said the Zambia Cotton Ginners Association (ZCGA) procures cotton and exports the same without any significant value addition to it. The ginners want to reap all the benefits themselves while not leaving any profit margins for farmers, he said.
Emphasizing on the need to revive the closed Mulungushi Textiles to ensure stability in prices of cotton and boost the sector's employability, he said Geoffrey Mwamba, the Minister of Defence, would soon convene a meeting with the shareholders of Mulungushi Textiles to ponder on the future of the company.
He said the Government has been asked to speed up revival of Mulungushi Textiles, as once the company goes functional, it would automatically solve the issues of ginners playing around with prices. This is because the revival of mill would facilitate large scale value addition for Zambian cotton, he added.
ZNFU President Jervis Zimba said Zambian ginners now export lint without any value addition to the commodity.
About failure of talks between cotton growers and buyers over pricing disagreements, the ZNFU President said the domestic cotton growers are being exploited, mainly as the country falls short in adding value to cotton.
While ZNFU is seeking a minimum K 3,000 per kg of cotton, the ginners are only offering a price of K 2,000 per kg.
Mr. Zimba said the Zambia Cotton Ginners Association (ZCGA) procures cotton and exports the same without any significant value addition to it. The ginners want to reap all the benefits themselves while not leaving any profit margins for farmers, he said.
Emphasizing on the need to revive the closed Mulungushi Textiles to ensure stability in prices of cotton and boost the sector's employability, he said Geoffrey Mwamba, the Minister of Defence, would soon convene a meeting with the shareholders of Mulungushi Textiles to ponder on the future of the company.
He said the Government has been asked to speed up revival of Mulungushi Textiles, as once the company goes functional, it would automatically solve the issues of ginners playing around with prices. This is because the revival of mill would facilitate large scale value addition for Zambian cotton, he added.
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