ISLAMABAD, July 16: The federal ministry for food, agriculture and livestock (Minfal) has asked the agriculture departments of Sindh and Punjab to immediately submit assessment reports on the damage to crops due to the ongoing monsoon season and floods.

A ministry official told Dawn here on Monday that both provinces were slow in gathering data about the damage, especially in Sindh, where floods had played havoc with crops disrupting normal life in several areas.

The federal government was estimating at least 10 per cent reduction in cotton production in Sindh and Punjab due to rains and another decrease by 5 to 7 per cent due to some rain-related virus attacks, sources said.

“It means damage to cotton is substantial and worrying,” an official source said.

Fields in the cotton growing belts of Sindh and Punjab were inundated as downpour was recorded in these areas till Friday last.

The federal government is expected to revise the estimate of various other crops after getting the data. It is believed that the overall reduction in crop production might negatively affect the Gross Domestic Product of the country.

The federal government had set a target of 14.14 million cotton bales for the current season which is now unlikely.

Sources in Minfal said the beetle leaf (paan) crop in Thatta and rice in Badin had been affected due to brackish seawater overflowing into nurseries and damage from it was estimated to be as high as 20 per cent. The mango orchards in Sindh were also reportedly hit by a virus even before the arrival of the monsoon rains.

The provincial agriculture department believed that almost 75- 80 per cent mango harvest was complete while half of the remaining crop was damaged by rains. The wet season might have severely damaged dates in Khairpur and other districts of upper Sindh, sources said. Sugarcane and rice production had also been affected.