Cotton arrival in Pakistan witnessed a significant increase of 27.7% as of September 30 compared to September 15, showed the latest fortnightly data released by the Pakistan Cotton Ginner’s Association (PCGA) on Tuesday.
As per the report, total cotton arrival in Pakistan rose to 5.025 million bales compared to 3.934 million bales recorded on September 15, 2023, an increase of 1.091 million bales.
On a year-on-year basis, cotton arrival in surged by over 71%, when compared to 2.936 million bales registered on September 30, 2022.
Last year, 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.
The improvement in cotton arrivals, an essential raw material for the textile sector, is a welcome development for cash-strapped Pakistan.
The country’s crucial textile sector, responsible for a majority of Pakistan’s exports, is also bearing the brunt of a plunge in demand and escalating economic woes.
Province-wise breakup
As per the PCGA data, cotton arrival reported a substantial increase from both Punjab and Sindh.
As of September 30, cotton arrival in Punjab clocked in at 2.069 million bales as compared to 1.545 million bales reported on September 15, 2023, an increase of 34%. On a yearly basis, cotton arrivals from Punjab bolstered by 33.9%, as compared to 1.546 million bales clocked in during the same period last year.
Similarly, cotton arrival in Sindh was 2.956 million bales compared to 2.389 million bales recorded in September 15, an increase of 0.567 million bales or 23.7%. However, the YoY increase was more pronounced in Sindh, as cotton arrivals jumped by 112.6% as compared to 1.391 million bales registered in SPLY.
Last 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.