Cotton production rises 9%

Farmers supply 1.06m bales to ginning factories in first Oct fortnight

KARACHI:

Ginning factories saw an unexpected reversal in the trend for cotton production and supply in the October 1-15 fortnight, when they received 1.062 million bales from farms, which was higher by 9.4% compared to supplies of 0.971 million bales in the same period of last year.

It is for the first time in the current cotton season, ie, 2024-25, when supplies to ginning factories have increased during a fortnight. Earlier, cotton arrivals from farms remained significantly lower when compared with the production of last year.

Cotton Ginners Forum Chairman Ihsanul Haq told The Express Tribune that consequent to the notable increase in cotton supply, an additional 184 ginning units had resumed operations. With this, the total number of ginning factories processing raw cotton surged to 536.

He projected that in the current season, the total harvest of cotton could reach six million bales, provided the weather remained favourable for the crop.

However, this output is far less than the requirement of 15-16 million bales by Pakistan's textile mills every year to produce varying products for domestic and international markets.

By October 15 this season, the total cotton production dived 48% compared to the same time period of last year.

According to the latest data released by the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association, cotton seed equivalent to 3.1 million bales reached ginning factories across the country by mid-October.

Province-wise breakdown showed that cotton seed equivalent to 1.186 million bales was sent to ginning factories in Punjab while Sindh units received 1.916 million bales, marking decrease of 53% and 45%, respectively, compared to the corresponding period of last year. Textile mills have purchased 1.591 million bales from ginning factories, down from 4.993 million bales in the previous year.

Meanwhile, textile millers have increased imports of cotton to meet their demand for manufacturing goods, particularly for dispatching export orders on time.

Haque mentioned that if electricity tariffs for export-oriented textile mills were reduced, it would greatly help them meet export orders, for which they would be required to import six million bales.