MULTAN, Dec 20: The Standing Committee on Cotton Crop Assessment has forecast an all-time high cotton production of 13.2m bales in the country for the current season (2004-05).

The committee announced its assessment during a meeting held here on Monday with Federal Minister for Agriculture Haji Sikandar Hayat Bosan in the chair. The committee took into account various factors to determine the crop size for the season, including the arrival pattern of cotton at ginneries.

It may be added that the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association, in its statement for the current season valid up to the first fortnight of this month, had reported arrival of 11.7m bales against the pre-season official target of 10.7m bales.

The committee observed that it was safe to estimate the crop size at 13.2m bales after keeping in view the number of ginneries currently operative in the country and the remaining period of the cotton arrival season.

It expected about 15 per cent more cotton coming from Punjab and 12 per cent more from Sindh in the days to come. The committee's province-wise estimate is as follows:

Punjab 10.4m bales; Sindh 2.7m bales; and Balochistan and the NWFP 0.1m bales each. It may be added that in the year 1991-92, the country had picked an all-time high cotton harvest of 12.8m bales.

The representative of All Pakistan Textile Mills Association refused to give millers' input on the likely crop size, saying that in the previous SCCCA meeting they had forecast the crop at 13m bales but other stakeholders, including the government, were not in agreement with their estimate.

He said that technical people should be included in the assessment committee so that over-dependence on ginners' body for determining the crop size could be eliminated. A federal government official said the crop reporting wing of Punjab's agriculture department, should be improved.