ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is celebrating a substantial surge in cotton arrivals, with the total reaching 3.933 million bales by September 15, 2023, compared to 2.187 million bales during the same period the previous year. This remarkable 79.87 percent year-on-year increase, reported by the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA), brings a ray of hope to a nation grappling with one of its most severe economic crises in history.
The increase in cotton production comes as a welcome relief, as it is expected to significantly reduce the country’s import bill. Earlier this year, the US Agriculture Department predicted a 36 percent rebound in cotton production, reaching 5.3 million bales in 2023/24. The department noted that following the damage caused by floods to the 2022/23 crop, yields were expected to return to trend levels. Moreover, better returns from competing crops were anticipated to limit the expansion of cotton cultivation.
This increase in domestic cotton production is projected to curtail the need for cotton imports. Despite various economic challenges confronting the textile sector, the US Agriculture Department reported that cotton imports in the first seven months of 2023/24 had risen by approximately 7 percent compared to the previous year.
Growth of Pakistan’s Textile Sector
The report also highlighted that constraints such as a shortage of foreign exchange for importing raw materials and machinery, currency fluctuations, and rising energy prices would continue to hamper the growth of the textile sector through 2024.
As cotton-picking commences earlier in the southern regions of the country, Sindh has experienced a notable surge in cotton arrivals, reaching 2.389 million bales—an increase of 2.15 times compared to the previous year. This growth is especially significant as the crop had been ravaged by historic floods in the preceding year.
In Punjab, the cotton arrivals also witnessed a substantial year-on-year increase of 44 percent, totaling 1.544 million bales.
Despite Pakistan’s status as an agriculture-dependent economy, the nation has been allocating a substantial portion of its foreign reserves toward the importation of food and farming-related products. In 2021, Pakistan ranked as the fifth-largest importer of raw cotton globally, with imports reaching a staggering $1.82 billion. Concurrently, raw cotton ranked as the eighth most imported product in Pakistan.
