Cotton arrivals up 27% to 1.7m bales

Crop condition encouraging in Sindh, Punjab despite instances of pink bollworm infestation

LAHORE:

Cotton arrivals across the country reached 1.696 million bales by the end of August, marking a 27% rise over supply of 1.336 million bales from farms during the same period of last year, according to figures released by the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) on Thursday.

Data showed that arrivals climbed by 360,819 bales year-on-year, with both major producing provinces posting gains. Punjab recorded supply of 557,097 bales against 465,570 bales last season, an increase of nearly 20%, while Sindh provided 1.139 million bales to ginning units compared with 870,062 bales a year earlier, up around 31%.

A total of 332 ginning factories are currently operating nationwide, holding combined stocks of 158,569 bales, split between 45,112 pressed bales and 113,457 bales in raw form. The textile sector emerged as the dominant buyer this season, purchasing 1.465 million bales, roughly 86% of total arrivals, underscoring sustained demand from mills as raw cotton supplies improve. Exporters and traders accounted for the remaining 73,000 bales purchased so far.

Fortnightly arrivals also picked up pace, totalling 582,938 bales against 448,231 bales in the corresponding period of last year, an increase of about 30%. At the district level, southern Punjab posted some of the strongest gains. Dera Ghazi Khan recorded arrivals of 110,102 bales, up 59% over last year, while Bahawalnagar received 66,331 bales, an increase of 83%. Bahawalpur contributed 66,326 bales and Vehari added 85,172 bales to the provincial tally.

In Sindh, Sanghar remained the country's leading cotton-producing district by a wide margin, with arrivals of 757,845 bales, the highest for any district nationwide and registering an increase of about 23% over last year. Hyderabad followed with 75,085 bales, Nawabshah with 47,300 bales and Mirpurkhas with 39,135 bales.

PCGA noted that the overall crop position in the current season was stronger than last year, though the volume of unregistered bales was also expected to be higher. An early slowdown in Sindh's arrivals was attributed to persistent rainfall, which delayed crop maturity and extended the time needed by cotton to reach picking stage. Officials expect picking and arrivals in the province to accelerate once hot and dry weather sets in.

Field reports describe crop conditions as encouraging in both provinces, though instances of pink bollworm infestation have been observed in parts of Punjab and Sindh, prompting calls for close monitoring and timely pest-control measures.

The advisory committee of the Central Cotton Research Institute (CCRI), Multan, has issued its September recommendations for growers, urging regular crop monitoring and proactive management of pink bollworm and other pests. Under favourable weather, the institute projects average yields of 1.25 to 1.5 bales per acre in Punjab, while Sindh could achieve around 2.5 bales per acre.