Pakistan'S Cotton Production Will Again Miss Official Targets

Pakistan's Cotton Association says Pakistan will again miss its official production target of 10 million bales of cotton this year. As of October 3, cotton production was down 35% from a year earlier. If this trend continues, it will mean that cotton production this year is only about half of the peak of 14 million bales a decade ago. Many factors have led to the continued decline in cotton production.

The cotton crop supplies Pakistan's $13 billion export-oriented textile industry with raw materials. However, due to the government's permission to set up sugar factories in the cotton planting belt, the lack of research and development of new varieties, growers' spending on fertilizers and pesticides, and climate change are the main reasons for the decline of cotton production in recent years. It also means that Pakistan's textile exporters will be more dependent on imported cotton to meet demand, which will lead to a shortage of foreign exchange, which is already in short supply.