The All Pakistan Textile and Mills Association (APTMA) and Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) decided to launch joint efforts to revive and promote cotton. This was stated by Chairman APTMA Kamran Arshid and Chairman PCGA Jasso Mal while holding a press conference here on Saturday. Dr Kamran Arshid said that they had decided to engage Federal and provincial governments to convince them to formulate cotton-friendly policies. He lamented that about 800 ginning units and 200 spinning units had closed down. “The government has imposed taxes on local cotton production, however, there is no tax on imports. The farmers have shifted their interest to other crops,” he added. Jasso Mal said that there were 22 industries linked to cotton. He said that the government should pay more focus to it. “We will also include farmers in the national policy making,” he added. Office-bearers of PCGA were also present.