Over 80% cotton sowing target achieved

The cultivation of cotton has been completed over 1.936 million hectares of land in the potential areas countrywide against the target of 2.32 million hectares for the current season (2021-22).

The crop sowing, however, decreased about 6.9% as compared to cultivation over 2.078 million hectares in the previous season, said an official of the Ministry of National Food Security and Research on Monday.

Talking to APP, he said that according to the provincial agricultural extension departments and crop reporting services, 83.4% cotton sowing target had been achieved in the current season.

There was 25.05% increase in crop plantations in Sindh, 12.3% in Balochistan and 54.5% in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

However, the cotton sowing in Punjab registered 17.3% negative growth during the period under review, owing to drought and dry weather at the start of the season, the official said.

The cotton crop was sown over 1.279 million hectares across Punjab, which constituted 79.4% of the target of 1.61 million hectares.

However, in Sindh, the cotton crop was cultivated over 0.594 million hectares, which accounted for 92.8% of the target of 0.64 million hectares. Balochistan met 91.4% of the sowing target of 0.64 million hectares.

The official mentioned that the cotton production target for the current season had been fixed at 11.034 million bales, based on the yield of approximately 740 kg per hectare.

The Ministry of National Food Security has proposed a revision in the intervention price of seed cotton to Rs6,000 per 40 kg for the crop season 2022-23 in order to provide a fair rate of return to the farmers.

The proposal, he said, was also aimed at increasing cotton production to bring stability to the domestic market.

The ministry has also proposed the constitution of a cotton price review committee.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 31^st, 2022.

Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.