LAHORE: The overall cotton production during the current season has dropped by almost half compared to the same period last year, according to the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association.

Experts have said the dip in bale availability was due to erratic weather patterns and the government’s failure to ensure that farmers got good prices for their produce.

In its first report of the season about the new crop released on Saturday, the association said around 442,000 bales of phutti or raw cotton were brought to ginning factories up till July 15.

The number was 48.48 per cent less than 858,007 bales available to ginning units during the same period last year, said the report which included data till July 15.

The break-up of the report reveals that Punjab has so far produced 114,375 bales; 42.49pc less than the 198,873 bales last year. During the season, Sindh has produced 327,666 bales, down by over half (50.29pc) from 659,134 bales of phutti produced during the corresponding period last year.

Sindh‘s Sanghar district, the hub of ginning factories, produces 80pc of the province’s total cotton and 60pc of Pakistan’s overall produce, mainly because growers from coastal areas of Sindh and some parts of Balochistan transport their produce to the district.

So far this season, 263,282 bales have arrived at the ginning units in the district, which is 46.07pc less than 488,234 bales during the same period last year.

Ginning units in Punjab and Sindh have purchased 395,695 bales — 89.51pc of the total available produce — from the growers. Textile mills have only purchased 374,889 bales from ginning factories, compared to the previous season’s figure of 691,731 bales.

Erratic weather affects crops

Cotton Ginners’ Forum Chairman Ihsanul Haq has said that one of the major reasons for the significant drop in cotton production this year was the government’s failure to fulfil its promise of ensuring that the growers get at least Rs8,500 per 40kg rate for their produce.

He added that adverse weather conditions also contributed to low production as the country witnessed extended winter with significant decrease in temperature during February and March. In May and June, excess heat affected cotton cultivation and production.

He also claimed that high taxes on the ginning sector resulted in a boom in undocumented sales of about 2.5 million bales last year, forcing the government to introduce a “track and trace” system in the ginning factories to control tax evasion.

However, Mr Haq added that undocumented business is still going on in certain areas as the government has yet to make the track-and-trace system functional.

Karachi Cotton Brokers Forum Chairman Naseem Usman also blamed climate change as abnormal heat was affecting the cotton fruit.

There has been a slowdown in the early sowing of crops, which has also led to reduced lint production, according to Mr Usman.

He estimated that the total harvest would be around 7.7m bales, significantly lower than the government’s target of 10.2m bales this year.

Published in Dawn, July 22nd, 2024