Pakistan to spend $2 billion on cotton imports amid low production

Pakistani workers process freshly picked cotton at a factory at Khanewal in the central province of Punjab, Pakistan, on February 24, 2016. (AFP/File)

• Industry stakeholders expect a shortfall of four million bales due to heatwave, excessive rains this year
• Pakistan does not have a single cotton variety that can survive above 43 degrees Celsius with good yield

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s industry is poised to spend over $2 billion this fiscal year on cotton imports to fulfill domestic needs and export textile products, as the crop yield is expected to register a shortfall of around four million bales, an industry stakeholder said on Wednesday.
Cotton is considered the backbone of the national economy, serving as the main raw material for the textile sector, which contributes about 60 percent to the overall exports of the South Asian nation. The cotton industry employs around 15 million people, and the country’s textile and apparel exports were recorded at $16.65 billion during the last fiscal year.
Speaking to Arab News, Zakirullah Khalidi, general secretary of the Pakistan Cotton Ginners’ Association, said cotton bale arrivals in the market had so far registered a reduction of around 63 percent compared to the previous year.
He added that this owed to a heatwave and excessive rains during the cotton-growing period from April to September.
“The industry will have to import cotton worth over $2 billion this fiscal year to fulfill its domestic and export needs,” he said.
Khalidi informed the cotton arrival data would be compiled until April next year, but estimates suggest the production will be around seven million bales, a reduction of at least four million bales from the eleven million bales targeted for this year.
“This is going to be a huge economic loss for the industry and the country as well,” he said, attributing the reduction in yield to climate change.
The industry primarily imports cotton raw material from the United States, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan to address the shortage and meet export orders. Most of Pakistan’s cotton is grown in the southern part of Punjab province, while the rest comes from Sindh province.
Sajid Mahmood, head of the transfer of technology department at the government-run Central Cotton Research Institute in Multan, said the ideal temperature for cotton fruiting and growth in Pakistan is around 35-40 degrees Celsius, but this year, temperatures rose to 48 degrees Celsius for a prolonged period in the cotton-growing regions.
“Pakistan doesn’t have a single cotton variety that can survive with good yield above 43 degrees Celsius,” he told Arab News, adding the institute has produced a new seed variety known as CYTO547 that can withstand temperatures above 48 degrees Celsius, though it is still in the trial phase.
Mahmood said erratic weather patterns during the cotton growing season had provided a suitable breeding ground for various pests, which are expected to damage over 1.5 million bales of the crop.
“Farmers are also switching to other cash crops as cotton is no longer profitable,” he said. “Therefore, the cultivation area has also reduced significantly.”
In Punjab alone, the cotton sowing area shrank from 4.4 million acres to 3.2 million acres this year, as farmers switched to sesame, sugarcane and paddy crops for better profits, he said.
“The sesame crop area has increased from 0.8 million acres last year to 1.7 million acres this year, as it is now considered a cash crop in the southern parts of Punjab,” he said.
Babar Bilal, a cotton grower in Rahim Yar Khan, said cotton yields have declined significantly in the last couple of years due to erratic weather patterns, pests and low-quality seeds.
“Farmers are switching to other crops like paddy and sesame to earn better profits as cotton is no longer a cash crop for the growers,” he told Arab News.