11.1 million cotton bales reach ginneries, arrivals up by 7.16pc

MULTAN: Seed cotton (Phutti) equivalent to 11.1 million or 11,108,719 bales have reached ginneries across Pakistan till Jan 1, 2018, registering an increase by 7.16 per cent compared to corresponding period of last year.

According to a fortnightly report of Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) released to media here Wednesday, out of total arrivals, over 10.77 million or 10,772,818 bales have undergone the ginning process.

Arrivals in Punjab were recorded at 6.89 million or 6,895,457 bales recording a percentage increase of 4.2 per cent.

Arrivals in Sindh were recorded at 4.21 million or 4,213,262 bales, some 12.38 per cent higher compared to corresponding period of last year.

Total sold out bales were recorded at 9.77 million (9,772,900) bales including 9.55 million (9,558,190) bales bought by textile mills and 214,710 bales purchased by exporters.

Over 1.33 million (1,336,819) bales were still lying with the ginneries as unsold stock.

Sanghar district of Sindh continued to remain on top with cotton arrival figures of 1.38 million or 1,380,106 bales till Jan 1, 2018. Rahimyar Khan and Bahawalpur districts in Punjab secured second and third place by recording arrivals of 1,028,840 and 974,773 bales respectively.

Exactly 906 ginning factories, out of total almost 1300, were operational in the country including 446 in Punjab and 163 in Sindh.

PCGA said that the report does not include cotton arrivals at district Kasur as statistics from the district did not reach PCGA.