Cotton arrivals in Pakistan have reached 8 million bales as of December 15th, 2023 as per the latest fortnightly data released by the Pakistan Cotton Ginner’s Association (PCGA) on Monday. As per the report, total cotton arrival in Pakistan rose to 8.024 million bales reporting a 74 percent increase year-on-year compared to 4.613 million bales during the same period last year. Arrivals are up by 3.5 percent or 0.271 million bales against 7.753 million bales reported on Nov 30th, 2023. Cotton arrivals in Punjab reached 3.95 million bales, up 43.2 percent, as compared to 2.762 million bales clocked in during SPLY. Similarly, cotton arrivals in Sindh show a massive YoY growth of 119.8 percent, reaching 4.067 million bales, against only 1.85 million bales that arrived during the same period last year. Sindh has contributed 51 percent to the total arrivals so far against 49 percent contribution from Punjab, with the first time achieving its target in a decade and the first time producing more Cotton than Punjab. Major production regions included Hyderabad (1.68 million bale), Multan (1.01 million bales), and Lodhran (584,385 bales), Mirpurkhas (543,818 bales), Sanghar (350,939 bales), Muzaffargarh (342,066 bales) and Nawabshah (320,226 bales). Analysts have expressed concerns over the extremely lower production from Punjab where Cotton was cultivated at 1.68 million acres against only 0.625 million acres in Sindh. It is primarily due to late cultivation as compared to Sindh, which makes the crop prone to pest and flood disasters. One more area of concern is the joy within government circles over the year-on-year rise in production numbers which is over a very low base as flash floods in Pakistan during 2022 devastated large swathes of agricultural land in the country, especially in Sindh and Balochistan, impacting cotton crop production, which witnessed a 34 percent YoY decline. In addition, the government has also failed to enforce the support price of Rs 8500 per maund which lured the farmers in Cotton post-flood and it will to be seen how that plays out in the coming season. The improvement in cotton arrivals, an essential raw material for the textile sector, is a welcome development for cash-strapped Pakistan. The country’s crucial textile sector, responsible for a majority of Pakistan’s exports, is bearing the brunt of a plunge in demand and escalating economic woes. Last week, the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) approached caretaker Finance Minister Dr Shamshad Akhtar for the availability of electricity at wheeling charges of 1-1.4 cents/kWh and B2B contracts.

Source: Pro Pakistani