$4 billion to be spent on cotton import

Damage due to rains, prevailing low cotton prices, and high cost of inputs, led to lower area under cotton cultivation necessitating import of about $4 billion worth of cotton for domestic consumption, Cotton Commissioner revealed to Business Recorder. Erratic rainfall, poor quality of seeds and drought in some cotton growing areas has resulted in low cotton output of 10.85 million bales against the estimate of 15.49 million bales.
The sowing target of cotton was also missed as it was planted on 2.946 million hectares against the target of 3.122 million hectares. Cost of inputs including seeds, pesticides, fertilisers and sprayers have increased from 15 to 20 percent. In some cases, low quality seeds, pesticides and fertilisers were also supplied to the growers with disastrous consequences on output.
Dr Khalid Abdullah, Cotton Commissioner, said Punjab was projected to produce 10.5 million bales this year, but the projection was revised downward to 7.4 million bales following erratic rainfall in some areas and attack of pink bollworm and whitefly. Sindh was expected to produce 4.4 million bales however the projected estimate was revised downward to 3.4 million bales after pink bollworm and whitefly attacks. The Cotton Commissioner further stated that the low price of the produce also resulted in low farmers' interest in sowing the crop. "The price of cotton remained between Rs 1800 to Rs 2300 rupees per 40 kilograms in August and September and this was too low compared to the previous years which led to lower area under cultivation then projected," he said. "Cotton production depends on favourable weather conditions, timely availability of inputs (fertilisers, agro-chemicals, quality seed etc), adequate crop management and sale prices," he said.
Adverse weather conditions were observed during the current season including high temperature, heavy rains and more rainy days that affected plant growth and development, restricted pesticide spray and weed management. The Cotton Commissioner said the pink bollworm severely damaged the crop in this season due to erratic weather patterns. The population built up unexpectedly at a later stage of the crop and severe boll damage was observed during the months of August-October.
He added that the farmers could not control the infestation by Pink bollworm due to lack of vigilance and unavailability of adequate pesticides. Pakistan is the fourth largest cotton producer in the world with the third largest spinning capacity in Asia after China and India. The sector also contributes 8.5 percent to the Gross Domestic Product and provides employment to some 40 percent of industrial labour force, according to the official figures. The country also earns around $12 billion annually from export of cotton and cotton products. The sector is known as the backbone of the country's economy but for the last few years cotton production has significantly declined due to droughts, floods, and erratic weather patterns.