ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s cotton production is expected to cross 10 million bales for the first time in the past more than one decade but annual harvest will fall short of the target by around 2.5 million bales.
According to cotton industry players, the production target had been set at 12.7 million bales while actual output could be around 10 million bales. It is for the first time the cotton production statistics have been released in July.
Data provided by the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) indicates that as of July 15, a total of 858,000 bales had reached ginning factories across the country. Of these, 659,134 bales were supplied in Sindh while 198,873 bales were provided to Punjab’s ginning factories.
PCGA report indicates that textile mills purchased 691,731 bales by mid-July while 1,000 bales were exported. At present, 165,276 bales are available for sale in ginning units and 298 factories are running across the country.
Citing reasons for high production, Cotton Ginners Forum Chairman Ihsanul Haq pointed to favourable weather conditions and government’s initiatives, which were expected to push cotton harvest to significantly higher levels.
The picking of matured crop kicked off in May in the coastal areas of Sindh while in other districts of Sindh and in Punjab the picking started in June.
Haq revealed that the highest production came from the Sanghar district in Sindh, which accounted for 488,000 bales.
A significant reason for that was the lack of ginning factories in the coastal towns of Sindh such as Badin, Thatta, Mirpur Sakro, Jhudo, etc, forcing farmers to send all cotton from those areas to the ginning factories in Sanghar. Last year, Pakistan’s cotton harvest touched the lowest in history, with just 4.9 million bales being produced by farmers.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 19th, 2023.