Cotton arrival declines 41% year-on-year owing to flood losses

Cotton arrival in Pakistan decreased 41% year-on-year, showed the latest fortnightly data released by the Pakistan Cotton Ginner's Association (PCGA) on Thursday.

As per the report, total cotton arrival in Pakistan declined to 3.708 million bales as of November 1, 2022, compared to 6.257 million bales in the same period last year, a fall of 2.549 million bales or 41%.

The decline in cotton arrival is attributed to the flash floods in Pakistan, which devastated large swathes of agricultural land in the country, especially in Sindh and Balochistan.

Cotton arrival declines 24% year-on-year due to devastating floods

“In Pakistan, the economic environment is challenging due to damages caused by floods. The agriculture sector has been particularly hard hit by the destruction brought on by the floods, and due to forward linkages, this impact will also be transferred to other sectors of the economy, thus changing the overall economic outlook.,” the Ministry of Finance had said in its latest “Monthly Economic Update & Outlook for October”.

Meanwhile, as per the PCGA data, cotton arrivals reported a substantial decrease from Sindh.

As of November 1, cotton arrival in Sindh was 1.635 million bales compared to 3.322 million bales in the same period last year, a decrease of 1.687 million bales or 51%. On a monthly basis, cotton arrival recorded an improvement of 18% as compared to 1.391 million bales arrived on October 1.

Similarly, cotton arrival in Punjab clocked in at 2.072 million bales as compared to 2.935 million bales reported in the same period last year, a decline of 29%. However, on a monthly basis, cotton arrival recorded a significant increase of 34% as compared to 1.546 million bales arrived on October 1.

Industrialists have expressed concern over the loss of cotton crop, which was washed away by floods.

Earlier, the Hyderabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HCCI) in a statement said that due to the damages sustained by the cotton crop a shortfall of 5 million bales was expected in the sector. A total of $2 billion could be needed to import the cotton bales required at a time when the country is facing a crisis in the area of foreign exchange reserves.