Cotton arrival in Pakistan witnessed a significant increase of 29.3% as of September 15 compared to August 31, showed the latest fortnightly data released by the Pakistan Cotton Ginner’s Association (PCGA) on Monday.

As per the report, total cotton arrival in Pakistan rose to 3.933 million bales compared to 3.041 million bales recorded on August 31, 2023, an increase of 0.892 million bales.

On a year-on-year basis, cotton arrival in surged by nearly 80%, when compared to 2.187 million bales registered on September 15, 2022.

Last year, flash floods in Pakistan devastated large swathes of agricultural land in the country, especially in Sindh and Balochistan, impacting the cotton crop.

The improvement in cotton arrivals, an essential raw material for the textile sector, is a welcome development for cash-strapped Pakistan.

Province-wise breakup

As per the PCGA data, cotton arrival reported a substantial increase from Punjab.

As of September 15, cotton arrival in Punjab clocked in at 1.544 million bales as compared to 1.069 million bales reported on August 31, 2023, an increase of 44.5%. On a yearly basis, cotton arrivals from Punjab bolstered by 43.4%, as compared to 1.077 million bales clocked in during the same period last year.

Similarly, cotton arrival in Sindh was 2.389 million bales compared to 1.972 million bales recorded in August 31, an increase of 0.417 million bales or 21.2%. However, the YoY increase was more pronounced in Sindh, as cotton arrivals jumped by 115.2% as compared to 1.11 million bales registered in SPLY.

Pakistan’s textile sector

Pakistan’s textile sector exports registered a decline of 6% and remained at $1.58 billion during August 2023 compared to $1.48 billion recorded in the same period last year.

Latest data by All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) revealed that the country’s textile exports during the first eight months (Jan-August) of the calendar year 2023 stood at $10.58 billion, down 19% compared to exports of $13 billion reported in January-August 2022.

Earlier this month, caretaker Federal Minister for Commerce and Industries and Production, Dr Gohar Ejaz, who is also the patron-in-chief of APTMA, set an ambitious target of $25 billion in textile exports for the current financial year against the $16 billion target for the last fiscal year.

The minister also pledged a swift revival of all shuttered industries within the country, with a tight deadline of just one month.

Comparing this year’s projected export figures with the previous year’s $16 billion, he expressed confidence in surpassing this milestone.