Rana Tanveer backs quicker path for foreign cotton varieties
At a Lahore cotton revival sitting, the food security ministry backed a shorter clearance route for foreign varieties and will forward the plan to the prime minister next week.
The Ministry of National Food Security and Research backed quicker cotton seed import and variety clearance for commercial sowing.
Biosafety and field checks would shrink from roughly seven years to about 12–18 months under the plan.
Guard Agricultural Research & Services CEO Shahzad Ali Malik tabled the ideas; they won unanimous support and go to the prime minister next week.
Industry groups backing the push include ginners, textile mills and the hi-tech hybrid seed association.
Regulators in Islamabad, Punjab and Sindh are to meet soon to align the new route.