KARACHI: The trend of abnormal decline in cotton production in the country has raised fears of a new crisis for the ginning and industrial sector.
After wheat, rice, maize, mustard, mango, cassava and sesame, farmers are now losing out on good income per acre production of cotton. Farmer organizations are calling on the federal and provincial governments to take measures on an emergency basis to restore the agricultural sector.
According to the latest data of Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association till September 30, 2024, only 20 lakh 40 thousand bales of cotton have been delivered with a significant reduction of 60% in ginning factories across the country.
According to the report, ginning factories in Punjab have reached 727,000 bales and 13,130,000 bales in Sindh during the period under review, which is 65% and 56% less than the same period of the previous year respectively.
According to the data, till September 30, the production of cotton in four regions of Punjab, Sargodha, Pakpatan, Okara and Kasur, has been zero, while in Rahim Yar Khan district, which was the largest cotton producer in the country until a few years ago, it has decreased by 95%. Only 12,000 bales equivalent of cracked ginning has reached the factories.
According to the report, there are currently 171 ginning factories operating in Punjab as against 385 last year and 221 ginning factories as against 278 in Sindh. During the period under review, textile mills have purchased 18 lakh 49 thousand bales of cotton from ginning factories, compared to 2 lakh 48 thousand in the same period last year, only 400 bales of cotton have been exported so far this year.
Chairman Cotton Genres Forum Ehsanul Haque told Express that in the context of the current situation, there are fears that the total national production of cotton during the cotton year 2024-25 will be less than 50 lakh bales due to which the textile mills have to meet their needs. Cotton worth 2 billion to 3 billion dollars will have to be imported.
He said that in order to improve the production per acre of cotton and other crops, the federal and provincial governments should make agricultural inputs free of sales tax instead of giving “Kisan Package” for the survival of farmers, set support prices for crops. As well as in the past, measures were taken to ensure their purchase.
Chairman Cotton Gener’s Forum said that the taxes on ginning and textile industry should be clearly reduced so that the undocumented business in these industries is completely eliminated so that accurate cotton production data can be revealed and the volume of revenue collections is also substantial. Can be increased.
