Cotton production target missed by 25pc

TAHIR AMIN

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has missed the cotton production target by around 25 per cent as the production has been recorded at 10.5 million bales against the set target of 14.1 million bales for 2016-17, it is learnt.

Official sources revealed to Business Recorder here on Saturday that 10.5 million bales of cotton have been recorded so far and the number may reach 10.6 million bales by end-March (closing time); however, the number surpassed the cotton production of 9.7 million bales recorded during the same period of the last year (2015-16).

The country had missed the crop production target by around 30 per cent in 2015-16 and it remained around 10 million bales which, according to the finance minister, had caused 0.5 per cent to GDP growth. The officials said the crop prospects are not very good in the current season as well and may negatively affect the growth rate again.

The government downward revised the cotton production target as well as cotton cultivation area and fixed it at 14.1 million bales from 7.4 million acres of land for 2016-17 against 15.49 million bales from 7.7 million acres of land estimated for 2015-16.

The cotton sowing decreased by 21 per cent in Punjab but it increased by 2 per cent in Sindh, with overall decrease of 15 per cent than the last year. According to the officials, lower prices in last year and less return from competing crops led to reduction in overall cotton sowing. This decrease in area is proportionately depicted in the production as well.

Punjab was expected to produce 9.5 million cotton bales from 5.9 million acres, Sindh had to cover 1.6 million acres and was estimated to produce 4.5 million cotton bales, Balochistan had to grow cotton on 0.12 million acres and was targeted to produce 0.04 million cotton bales and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was targeted to cover about 74,000 acres and produce 0.0015 million cotton bales.

However, Cotton Crop Assessment Committee (CCAC) revised downward cotton production estimates three times in the outgoing season. Punjab is now estimated to produce 6.903 million bales against the initial estimates of 9.5 million bales, Sindh, 3.6 million bales against 4.5 million bales, Balochistan, 0.038 million bales against initial estimate of 0.098 million bales, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is now estimated to produce 0.001 million bales against 0.0015 million bales.

Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) has issued the figures of cotton arrival up to March 01, 2017. Seed cotton (phutti) equivalent to over 10,707,181 bales of cotton have reached the ginneries across Pakistan as of March 1, 2017, showing an increase of 10.2 per cent compared to the corresponding period of last year, when ginneries received 9,727,771 bales.