MULTAN, March 18: The country has produced 12.342 million bales of cotton, registering a shortfall of 13.76 per cent, said a fortnightly report issued by the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) here on Saturday.

According to the report, total arrivals of cotton at operating ginneries across the country recorded at 12.342 million cotton bales till March 15 as compared to the last year’s figure 14.312 million bales on the same date.

Punjab’s cotton output was recorded at 9.801 million bales as compared to the last year’s 11.275 million bales, showing a shortfall of 13.08 per cent.

The production of Sindh stood at 2.541 million bales as against the last year’s 3.036 million bales, showing a decline of 16.29 per cent.

Textile mill owners have so far purchased 10.817 million bales and exporters 73,250 bales. The unsold stocks of lint stood at 1.413 million bales and those of phutti at 0.038 million bales.

The approximate rate of good quality lint at the open market stood at Rs2,350 per maund and that of phutti at Rs1,150 per 40kg. The government’s support price for lint is Rs2,269 and for phutti Rs975 per 40kg.—APP