The International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) has projected steady cotton consumption growth for Pakistan at two percent, reaching 2.6 million tons. Pakistan cotton production is projected down 11 percent to 2.1 million, revealed the latest data issued by the ICAC.
Cotton Commissioner Dr Khalid Abdullah told Business Recorder that local issues of the industry and policies might affect the consumption adversely and cotton prices might fall significantly below the international prices. According to ICAC, world cotton consumption could grow at two percent in 2015-16 to 25 million tons with consumption growth remaining flat or slow in many countries compared with last season. Consumption in China, the largest cotton consuming country, is expected to remain flat in 2015-16 at 7.7 million tons. India's consumption growth is expected to slow to three percent, reaching 5.6 million tons, while Pakistan's consumption growth may remain steady at two percent, reaching 2.6 million tons.
ICAC projected a stable cotton trade in the year 2015-16 as world cotton area will reduce by seven percent due the lower prices in countries like India, China and USA and consumption may grow by two percent. Pakistan needed to work hard towards cotton standardisation and value-addition to enhance the farmers' income, said Cotton Commissioner, adding the high responsive cotton varieties increased yield per unit area on the one hand but increased the cost of cultivation on the other and ever rising input cost unable to compensate by the yield gain. The scientists were required to develop less responsive cotton varieties with good genetic yield potential and practice quality picking so that they could fetch good price of their produce, he added.
Commissioner said that cotton prices in the local market remained lower than the cost of cultivation for the last five years and farmers demanded for support price. Considering their genuine issues, the ECC of the Cabinet allowed Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) to procure one million bales of cotton in 2014-15, but due to delay in operation, the farmers could not get benefit and government had no option but to stop buying after the procurement of less than 100,000 bales. TCP is unable to sale procured cotton despite various attempts to auction quality cotton.