KARACHI: Textile mills have started large-scale import contracts of cotton due to the unprecedented decline in national cotton production due to climate change.
Chairman Cotton Producers Forum Ehsanul Haque told Express that due to the record reduction in cotton prices last year, the cotton cultivation has decreased this year and now due to the extraordinary damage caused to the cotton crop due to heavy rains, the production of cotton in Pakistan has decreased. With the decrease in cotton, its quality has also been affected, due to which Pakistani textile mills have started entering into large-scale cotton import contracts.
Referring to the American cotton export report, he said that globally, Pakistan has become the largest buyer of American cotton for the last three weeks. Pakistan has so far signed import agreements of more than 1.5 million bales of cotton from USA, Tanzania, Brazil and Afghanistan which are still ongoing.
Stakeholders are puzzled by the extraordinary disparity between public and private sector statistics on cotton production in Punjab’s cotton belt. According to the latest statistics of Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association, a total of 12 lakh 26 thousand bales of ginning has reached the ginning factories with a reduction of 60% till August 31.
According to the report, ginning factories in Punjab have shipped 4 lakh 53 thousand bales of gin, while in Sindh 7 lakh 73 thousand bales of ginning have been delivered, which is 58% and 61% less than the same period of last year respectively.
Only 272 ginning factories are active in the country at present while only 1.2 lakh 26 thousand bales of cotton have been purchased by the textile mills during the period under review, resulting in 54 thousand bales of cotton in the ginning factories for sale. are available.
According to the report of PCGA, the production of cotton in Punjab has been 4 lakh 53 thousand bales till August 31, while according to the Crop Reporting Center Punjab, this production consists of 7 lakh 59 thousand bales, which is surprising compared to the report of PCGA. 67 percent is more.
Chairman Cotton Ginners Forum said that there are also reports that cotton ginners are selling undocumented cotton in many areas, due to which a record reduction in cotton production is observed in the report issued by PCGA.
Ehsan-ul-Haq said that a few days ago, the price of cotton per maund in Punjab increased by 1000 rupees to 19500 rupees while in Sindh it reached the level of 19200 rupees. Due to which the price of cotton in Punjab has decreased to Rs.1200 per maund, which has reached the level of Rs.18300 per maund in Sindh and Rs.18000 in Sindh.
