LAHORE: Cotton arrivals across Pakistan have surged by 25.48 percent during the current season, reaching 1,113,513 bales by August 15 compared with 887,401 bales in the corresponding period last year, according to a report issued by the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) on August 18.
Sajid Mahmood, Head of the Transfer of Technology Department at the Central Cotton Research Institute, Multan, said the number of operational ginning factories had also risen nearly 10 percent to 268, signalling improved sector activity. Punjab recorded a modest 2.61 percent rise in arrivals, while Sindh and Balochistan together posted a sharp 41.80 percent increase, led by Sanghar district.
Mahmood welcomed the trend but cautioned that final production would depend on weather and market conditions ahead. He called for a coordinated national strategy covering research, quality seed, water availability and profitable prices, stressing that farmers would keep investing in cotton only if offered reliable markets and fair returns.
Chairman of the Karachi Cotton Brokers Forum, Naseem Usman, has said that fundamental factors in the cotton market are gradually improving, citing steady mill demand, limited pressed cotton stocks and supportive international prices.
According to PCGA data, cotton arrivals across the country stood at 1.114 million bales as of August 15, with textile mills having purchased around 938,000 bales. Current stocks stand at 162,696 bales, including 94,488 bales of phutti and only 68,208 bales of pressed cotton.
Naseem Usman said mills are not holding heavy stocks and quality parameters, including staple length, are improving. He noted that international cotton is trading around 85 cents per pound, making imported cotton relatively costlier for local mills and lending support to domestic prices.
He added that favorable weather and improving crop conditions further strengthen the outlook, predicting that chances of market improvement remain higher than the possibility of any significant decline in the coming days.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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