President Asif Ali Zardari will shortly promulgate an ordinance to introduce the sowing of Bt cotton with a view to increase crop yield to cater to the textile sector's needs, said Textile Minister Muhammad Farooq Saeed Khan.

He announced that sowing of the newly introduced genetically evolved seeds of Bt cotton would be started from next year. He added that the government would implement the country's maiden textile policy to achieve the set target of $25 billion in five years, and Cabinet committee in this connection has been formed to remove hindrances.

The government will provide Textile Ministry Rs 42 billion to carry out the task of encouraging textile trade, as we have also given assurances prior to announcing the first textile policy. However, he made it clear that boost in textile trade with EU and US would be the primary responsibility of textile exporters after the announcement of textile policy. He urged the stakeholders to  create a strong lobby for promotion of the country in the global markets.