THE textile industry has blamed research institutions for the decline in cotton production and the consequent shrinking of sowing area by failing, in particular, to develop effective varieties of cotton seed and an increase in the yield.

But more severe has been the critique by Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif who, while speaking at a seminar on Aug 31, gave a deadline of three months to the experts and scientists of agriculture research organisations to come up with results or leave their positions for young professionals. He said there would be no compromise on work and those who failed to deliver would have to go to home.

The head of the cotton committee of the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma), Seth Akbar, has described the reduction in sowing area in Punjab as “a failure of the cotton research bodies which have now become ineffective and, in fact, a burden on the industry.” The spinning industry, he says, contributes Rs700m every year for cotton research, which, he thinks, is being spent on salaries and administrative expenses.

Aptma thinks the country will have to import more cotton worth $1.3bn this year because of a 16pc reduction in Punjab’s cotton sowing area. Punjab’s Agriculture Minister Farrukh Javed says the textile industry was becoming highly dependent on imported cotton. Therefore, duties and taxes on import of cotton would make the entire value chain uncompetitive. There is an urgent need for withdrawal of 4pc customs duty and 5pc sales tax on the import of cotton.

This year’s setback comes in the wake of last season’s cotton crop failure which was severe in Punjab where the year-on-year shortfall crossed 40pc.Itwiped out billions from the rural economy.

Aptma thinks the country will have to import more cotton worth $1.3bn this year because of a 16pc reduction in Punjab’s cotton sowing area

However, reports from the lower Sindh region suggest sowing area this season is higher than last year’s. Cotton has been sown on 640,000 hectares compared to 621,000 hectares a year ago. In Punjab, cotton is being cultivated on 430,000 acres this year, as compared to 540,000 acres in 2014. The area undercotton cultivation is decreasing due to the persistent use of obsolete first generation seeds and inadequate supply of quality seeds.

Meanwhile, the proceedings of the fourth meeting of the Federal Textile Board held on Aug 29 presented a different scenario of the cotton sector. The meeting chaired by Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir was informed that Pakistan was expected to produce around 13m bales of cotton in the coming season.

Officials said that the ‘recovery’ in cotton output was the outcome of ‘sustained efforts of the federal and provincial governments in the last year’. Besides, an official statement issued after the meeting said through close coordination between federal and Punjab governments, pink bollworm, which had damaged the cotton crop last year, has largely been controlled.

Shahbaz Sharif wants the planners and agriculture experts to critically analyse causes of decrease in the output of agriculture commodities and share their knowledge with all the stake-holders. While speaking at a seminar, he said quality seed was sine qua non for increasing cotton production but other steps were also needed. The grower should get the best reward for his produce. He regretted that the agriculture extension services have become a dead horse and asked for their revival.

Textile leaders while appreciating the chief minister’s close interest in their industry’s affairs, pointed out that a major factor in the decline of cotton production was the supply of spurious cotton seed and unapproved Bt. cotton seed, which has lost its efficacy. The fact remains that the government has neither approved any Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton variety nor enacted laws to check the fake ones. Also, no cotton seed research, they said, has been undertaken to increase yield.

Cotton production has suffered a major fall in output in the last couple of years. Textile exports have also declined and in the just-ended fiscal year 2015-16 dropped by more than 7pc to $12.46bn compared to $13.45bn a year ago, according to official figures.

Meanwhile, a meeting of the governing body of the Pakistan Central Cotton Committee (PCCC) held on Aug 30 after a lapse of two years and chaired by federal minister for food security Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan was not attended by senior provincial representatives. The minister expressed his dismay over their lack of interest in a matter which was of critical importance and asked the secretary of the PCCC to seek an explanation from the members for their absence, which may be due to centre-provinces differences.

With the exception of Australia, all major cotton producing regions have recorded a decline in production in 2015-16. In terms of the fall in percentage, Pakistan remains the worst hit. Numerous factors such as pest attack, insufficient input and limitation of existing varieties contributed to the decrease in Pakistan’s cotton output. But its average per hectare yield of 560kg’s is better than the Indian yield of 516kg.

Published in Dawn, Business & Finance weekly, September 19th, 2016