The amount of cotton delivered to Pakistani ginners through Nov. 1 shows a decrease of 17.6 percent from the previous year, according to a report published in the Business Recorder.

Through October, Pakistan’s ginneries took in 6.07 million bales of cotton, down significantly from the 7.36 million bales recorded during the same period last year. The 2010 figure represents the lowest total in recent memory for Pakistan, which lost about 2 million bales of cotton to the extensive flooding the country suffered through earlier this year, particularly in the Punjab and Sindh regions. Despite the losses, those two regions were still the largest production areas--Punjab with 3.49 million bales and Sindh with 2.57 million bales.

Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association President Chaudhry Masud A Majeed has asked government officials to put together a relief and bailout package for ginning factories in the hardest-hit areas and expects a response to his request soon.