MULTAN: Seed cotton (phutti) output fell 6.9 percent, with only 10.77 million bales reaching ginneries across Pakistan till April 1, 2019, compared to corresponding period of last year.

Out of total arrivals, over 10.76 million bales have undergone the ginning process, a fortnightly report of the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) said on Wednesday.

Arrivals in Punjab were recorded at over 6.622 million bales, showing a 9.50 percent shortfall, whereas in Sindh arrival of over four million bales registered 2.45 percent shortfall, compared to the corresponding period of last year.

Total sold out bales were recorded at over 9.9 million, including over 9.8 million bought by textile mills, and another 102,330 purchased by exporters. As many as 809,195 bales were still lying with the ginneries as unsold stock.

Sanghar district of Sindh remained on top with arrival of over 1.28 million bales. Rahimyar Khan district of Punjab secured second position with 1.19 million bales, whereas Bahawalnagar stood third with just over a million or precisely 1,007,221 bales. The statistics show shortfall in 25 cotton districts out of the total 32, including 18 out of total 21 in Punjab, and seven out of 11 cotton districts in Sindh. The report does not include cotton figures from districts Kasur, and Sargodha.

Only eight ginning factories were operational in the country, including seven in Punjab and one in Sindh. However, 28 factories were operational during the corresponding period of last year, including 22 in Punjab and six in Sindh.