Cotton production in Pakistan jumped by 81% to 6.25 million bales during the current season from June 2021 to November 2021 owing to timely rains in the crop fields.
The remarkable spike in output has helped boost the textile industry to cut the imports of the input to match the local demand.
During the same period last year, the cotton produced stood at 3.45 million bales as per data from Pakistan Cotton Ginners’ Association (PCGA) on Wednesday.
The association reported an average weight of one bale at 155kg.
PCGA former chairman Jassu Mal Leemani has said, “Timely rains in September helped lift cotton output this year. He added, “Last year, untimely rains in August had damaged almost 2 million bales alone in Sindh. Accordingly, the country ended up reporting total cotton production at multi-decade low level of 5.64 million bales in the previous season 2020-21.”
The cotton production in Pakistan reached a historical high at nearly 14 million bales in 2014-15. The output has been on a decline ever since, mostly because of the shortage of quality seeds.
According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the record low production during the previous fiscal year encouraged the industry to import 857,373 tons of cotton yarn worth $1.48 billion.
The total consumption of cotton in Pakistan surpassed 16 million bales per annum from 2015 to 2019. The demand declined to 14.7 million bales in the previous year 2019-2020 during the pandemic.
The textile industry continues to be the single largest exporting segment in Pakistan’s economy as its share in total export earnings is at 60%.
Leemani said, “We expect a cumulative production of 7-7.2 million bales in current season 2021-22 and around 10 million bales in 2022-23”.
PCGA former chairman said that farmers will get a better price next year after which they will be encouraged to grow cotton in a larger area. He said, “Farmers are receiving Rs6,000 for 40kg of phutti (cotton flower) in the ongoing season compared to Rs3,000 per 40kg last year.”
These days, the cotton price is nearing a record high at Rs17,000 per 40kg against Rs11,000 per 40kg around last year.
Farmers, especially in Punjab, opted to sow rice, maize, and sugarcane rather than cotton during the last few years because they were not able to get a good price for phutti. Cotton seeds were sowed on nearly 3 million acres of land in Punjab this year in comparison to 6 million acres a few years back.
He added, “Punjab produced 12 million bales in 2014-15 compared to an estimated 3 million bales in the current year 2021-22”.
During the ongoing year, farmers in Sindh sowed cotton seeds at 1.3 million acres of land against 1.5-1.6 million acres in the past.
Leemani noted that the price of cotton had doubled to $1.2 per pound in the global market in comparison to $0.6 last year.
The official highlighted that farmers prefer sowing crops that can get them good selling prices.
The government should develop a cotton policy that aids in boosting the textile industry which contributes 60% of the total export earnings on a yearly basis.
He added that mismanagement of water results in a low supply of the essential commodity which creates challenges for the farmers.
He said, “The government should frame a policy to support cotton farming. This will reduce cotton imports, save foreign exchange and increase textiles export which is the need of the moment.”
