Cotton output surges 54% as of Dec 1

December 3, 2021 (MLN): Pakistan’s cotton production soared by 54% YoY to 7.168 million bales up to December 01, 2021, as opposed to 4.648m bales produced in the same period of last year, the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) said in its fortnightly report released on Friday.

This significant increase was the result of the government incentives being provided to the farmers in the form of interest-free loans, premiums on crop insurance, subsidies on purchase of basic inputs, agricultural machinery and laser land levelers. In addition, the hard work of cotton growers and favorable weather conditions helped achieve higher yields.

Further, this continuous growth in cotton arrival has had a positive impact on the outlook for cotton production where the current production target for FY22 has been set at 9.74mn bales.

These higher yields might lead to higher textile production and exports. It is prudent to mention that Pakistan’s textile exports reached $6.02 billion during July-October FY 2021-22, depicting a yearly growth of 26.55% on the back of strong demand for Pakistan’s textiles in the global market despite the resumption of economic activities in competing countries.

However, the country witnessed a substantial rise in raw cotton imports by 79% YoY in October 2021, largely due to a rise in global cotton prices, suggesting that the country’s demand for cotton has been increasing sharply from one of the largest export sectors, i.e., textile.

Going into details made available by association, textile mills have so far purchased 6.678m bales while 16 thousand bales sold to exporters.

Province-wise, cotton production in Sindh rose to 3.489m bales while in Punjab, the production was recorded at 3.679m bales as of Dec 01, the association said.

Copyright Mettis Link News