KARACHI: Phutti (seed-cotton) arrivals into ginneries declined by 41.27 per cent to 4.027 million bales till Nov 15 compared to 6.8m bales in the same period last year, showed fortnightly data released by the Pakistan Cotton Ginners’ Association (PCGA) on Tuesday.

In the ongoing season, Punjab produced 2.151m bales while Sindh generated 1.87m bales. Of the total production, textile mills bought 3.124m bales while 20,600 bales were picked up by exporters.

“Cotton production is at its lowest and will affect the national economy. The government needs to take immediate steps in order to revive cotton production,” said PCGA Secretary General Asif Khalil.

“Cotton crops need urgent attention,” said Khalil while asking Prime Minister Imran Khan “to take immediate action otherwise the country’s ginning industries will be closed.” He urged the government to form a cotton committee with stakeholders from relevant sectors to revive production and said the government needs to announce a dedicated cotton production policy.

City-wise, Sanghar was the leading producer in Sindh producing 763,545 bales followed by Bahawalnagar in Punjab reporting an arrival figure of 539,719 bales.

“Due to decline in cotton production, the production of value added textile sector has suffered at large owing to unavailability of cotton yarn and textile exporters are hesitant to finalise new export orders due to unavailability of cotton yarn,” Pakistan Apparel Forum Chairman Muhammad Jawed Bilwani said in a statement.

“Government should provide free top quality cotton seeds containing a toxin to kill selective insects to growers. The fertiliser and pesticides should also be provided on subsidised rates by the government,” said Bilwani. He recommended the government to support growers who agree to increase cultivation area and yield on a yearly basis.

Sector experts say that the country is likely to produce below 6m bales this season — the lowest in around 35 years. As per Food Ministry data, cotton production in FY20 declined by 7 per cent to 9.1m bales from 9.8m in FY19.

“Declines in cotton output during the current season will increase textile exporters’ reliance on imported cotton. The government should cut down sales tax and customs duty on cotton yarn to provide relief to the textile sector,” said JS Global’s Ahmed Lakhani while speaking to Dawn.

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2020