MULTAN - Eminent agriculture scientist of the country Dr. Tasawur Hussain Malik has said that production of best quality cotton was an important demand of the textile industry to produce top quality textile products and fetch sizable foreign exchange in return through exports. Director of Pakistan Cotton Standards Institute (PCSI) expressed these views while addressing a gathering of cotton selectors during their training organized by PCSI here. This way, Dr. Tasawur said, country’s economic hardships could be mitigated to a great extent. He said PCSI was the only institution in the country engaged in grading cotton as per its quality and provides technical assistance to farmers and private sector on cotton classing, grading, selection and fibre testing to improve quality of seed cotton as well as lint. Over 30 cotton selectors from agriculture extension departments of Punjab and Sindh, Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA), and Pakistan Cotton Brokers Association (PCBA) joined the training on July 26 and it would continue till Aug 8. Dr. Tasawur Hussain Malik said that federal ministry of National Food Security and Research was making result-oriented efforts to activate PCSI on modern lines and would provide resources for laboratories upgradation, and modern machinery. He further stated that cotton standardization process would soon begin in Sindh and Punjab under a pilot project. He said that a programme would also be launched for farmers to produce contamination-free cotton that will help produce better grade lint and enable textile industry produce top quality fabric. Regional Incharge PCSI Syed Kaleemuddin, head of technology transfer wing of CCRI Multan Sajid Mahmood, and other also spoke.