The entire cotton-ginning sector in Pakistan has become outdated which needs immediate modernisation.
The government has noted this aspect but the ginning sector is in the private sector and it is for the sponsors to come forward and invest in the modernisation process.
Fine cotton is imported for the manufacture of fine cloth. The modernisation of ginning factories will help improve the cotton quality, which will also be competitive in the international market.
There are 1,221 ginning factories in Pakistan, out of which 1,075 are in the Punjab and the remaining 146 are in Sindh.
The total capacity is about 20 million bales per year (assuming a 100-day ginning season).
Against capacity, the total production of ginned cotton is 10 million bales suggesting an excess capacity of ginning in the country through the process of modernisation.
It is a well-known fact that the ginning is the sector, which is first in the process of value addition leading to readymade garments or other textile products. Unfortunately the factories are outdated and need immediate modernisation.