Cotton production target achieved in Sindh after 10 years

Cotton production target achieved in Sindh after 10 years

KARACHI Sindh has surprisingly achieved the annual cotton production target even before the end of the cotton year after nearly a decade.

On the other hand, Punjab has been able to achieve only 44% of the initial target set by November 30, 2023. It is feared that this year Punjab will be able to achieve around 55% of the set target.

Chairman Cotton Ginners Forum Ehsanul Haq said that according to the total national cotton production data released by the Cotton Ginners Association, a total of 77 lakh 53 thousand bales of cotton were produced in ginning factories across the country till November 30 with an increase of 81%. Equivalent cotton has to reach the ginning factories.

In the period under review, the ginning factories of Punjab have reached 37 lakh 37 thousand with an increase of 49% while the ginning factories of Sindh have reached 40 lakh 16 thousand bales of cotton with an increase of 128%.

During this period, 1 lakh 25 thousand bales of cotton have been exported from Pakistan while textile mills have purchased 67 lakh 55 thousand bales of cotton from ginning factories and 1 lakh 65 thousand bales of cotton from a foreign firm.

Ehsan-ul-Haq said that the main reason for the abnormal decrease in cotton production compared to the target in Punjab is the extremely adverse weather conditions and severe damage to the crop, especially the unusual attack of the whitefly, while cotton cultivation in Punjab In practice, the area under cultivation is much less than the reported area.

He said that in Sindh, in February/March of this year, there was a record cultivation of cotton in the coastal areas of Sindh and after many years, due to the absence of traditional rains during cotton cultivation and picking, there has been a record increase in the production of cotton per acre. Due to the improvement of its quality, there is a record increase in cotton exports this year.

He said that initially this year, the total domestic cotton production target for Cotton Year 2023.24 was set at the government level at 1.8 million bales, of which 40 lakh bales were set for Sindh and 83.37 thousand bales for Punjab. But surprisingly, Sindh has achieved its target on November 30, but Punjab will be able to achieve 55% of its target.

He said that in view of the rapidly emerging climatic changes in Pakistan, if the new cotton season is started across the country in February/March, like the coastal cities of Sindh, it is expected that the overall cotton production in Pakistan will increase. Domestic production may be around 15 million bales.

However, cotton consumption has now become a question rather than cotton production in Pakistan as textile mills are rapidly becoming inactive in Pakistan due to the extraordinary increase in electricity, gas, interest rates on loans and taxes.

While the industries across Sindh have announced a complete shutdown against the extraordinary increase in gas prices from December 4, and there are fears that this trend will reach Punjab as well, which will affect the country's economy. There is a fear of minor damage, so the federal government should take such measures without taking the IMF into account, so that our industries can be fully functional and we can stand on our feet.