ISLAMABAD: The Cotton Crop Assessment Committee (CCAC) on Friday estimated local crop output season at 9.451 million bales as against the set production targets of 12m bales.

Sharing details, Cotton Commissioner Dr Khalid Abdullah said a meeting to assess the current crop volume was chaired by Minister for National Food Security and Research Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar.

Dr Abdullah briefed the meeting that cotton output in Punjab province was expected to reach 6.671m bales and in Sindh it was assessed at 2.68m bales. Crop output of Balochistan was estimated at 0.098m bales, he added.

The commissioner noted that the crop faced extraordinary temperature increases during the critical stages of crop development followed by an unexpected rise in temperature by 2 to 5 degrees Celsius during September.

“Such harsh temperature affected the plant nutrition development capability and puts the plant under stress, thereby hampering late season fruit development,” he added.

Similarly, he said irrigation water shortage in Sindh, especially during critical stages of crop development, was another major issue. “Severe attack of pink bollworm both in Punjab and Sindh, white fly attack, lower seed cotton prices with rising input costs remained the key elements affecting cotton production,” he said.

Representatives of provincial government of Punjab, Plant Protection Department, Trading Corporation of Pakistan , Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department , Pakistan Central Cotton Committee and All Pakistan Textile Mills Association attended the meeting.—APP