Cotton produced in the current agricultural season will fetch a price of at least 15 meticais (about 50 US cents) per kilo, higher than anything offered to cotton farmers over the past two decades.According to Monday’s issue of the Maputo daily “Noticias” the decision was taken during a meeting in Nampula between the buyers and producers, chaired by Agriculture Minister Jose Pacheco. In November a similar meeting agreed an indicative price of only 10 meticais a kilo.The current agricultural campaign is on course to yield 70,000 tonnes of raw cotton, which when processed will result in about 26,000 tonnes of cotton fibre worth approximately 100 million US dollars.Prices are high on the international cotton market, and over the last two weeks have reached 4,500 dollars a tonne.Unlike previous negotiations on minimum prices, this meeting is said to have been dominated by positive dialogue and understanding between the two sides. The National Forum of Cotton Producers (FONPA) proposed a minimum price of 16 meticais a kilo, while the Cotton Association of Mozambique (AAM), representing the purchasing companies, proposed 14.5 meticais.Pacheco said that the increasing price of cotton fibre on the international markets represented a challenge to the cotton producers to accelerate the adoption of new technologies to increase their yield per hectare.He welcomed the fact that the producers and the buyers have arrived at an agreement on a minimum price that reflects the market trend. It is hoped that the consensus will stop the decline in cotton production which involves around 20,000 farmers. Poor prices in previous years have led many to abandon cotton in favour of other, better paying, crops.
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