Month-on-month: cotton arrival in Pakistan stagnates in March

Cotton arrival in Pakistan was largely stagnant with a paltry increase of 0.05% as of March 31, 2024, compared to February 29, 2024, showed data released by the Pakistan Cotton Ginner’s Association (PCGA) on Thursday.

As per the report, total cotton arrival in Pakistan rose to 8.397 million bales compared to 8.393 million bales recorded on February 29, 2024, an increase of 0.004 million bales.

On a year-on-year basis, however, cotton arrival surged by nearly 71%, when compared to 4.912 million bales registered on March 31, 2023.

Flash floods in Pakistan devastated large swathes of agricultural land in the country, especially in Sindh and Balochistan, impacting cotton crop production, which witnessed a 34% YoY decline.

Cotton arrival inches up in last two weeks of February

The improvement in cotton arrival, an essential raw material for the textile sector, is a welcome development for Pakistan.

The country’s crucial textile sector, responsible for a majority of Pakistan’s exports, has been at the receiving end of a plunge in demand and rising energy prices.

The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA), which represents the largest industrial sector of Pakistan, on several occasions has urged authorities to end cross-subsidies to nonproductive sectors.

Back in February, APTMA warned that if corrective actions are not urgently taken, over 50% of firms in the textiles and apparel sector could shut down in the coming weeks.

APTMA said the international competitiveness of Pakistan’s textiles and apparel exports is being continuously eroded by increasing energy prices “that are, on average, over twice those in competing countries, and merits your urgent attention”.

Province-wise breakup

As per PCGA data, cotton arrival remained largely unchanged from both Punjab and Sindh.

As of March 31, cotton arrival in Punjab clocked in at 4.282 million bales as compared to 4.278 million bales reported on February 29, 2024, an increase of only 0.1%. On a yearly basis, cotton arrivals from Punjab jumped by 41.2%, as compared to 3.033 million bales clocked in during the same period last year.

Similarly, cotton arrival in Sindh remained unchanged at 4.115 million bales compared to 4.115 million bales recorded on February 29.

However, the YoY increase was more pronounced in Sindh, as cotton arrivals jumped by 119% as compared to 1.879 million bales registered in SPLY.