Cotton arrival in Pakistan witnessed a significant increase of 19.3% as of October 15 compared to September 30, showed the latest fortnightly data released by the Pakistan Cotton Ginner’s Association (PCGA) on Wednesday.
As per the report, total cotton arrival in Pakistan rose to 5.996 million bales compared to 5.025 million bales recorded on September 30, 2023, an increase of 0.971 million bales.
On a year-on-year basis, cotton arrival in surged by nearly 62%, when compared to 3.708 million bales registered on October 15, 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 PCGA data, cotton arrival reported a substantial increase from both Punjab and Sindh.
As of October 15, cotton arrival in Punjab clocked in at 2.543 million bales as compared to 2.069 million bales reported on September 30, 2023, an increase of 22.9%. On a yearly basis, cotton arrivals from Punjab jumped by 22.7%, as compared to 2.072 million bales clocked in during the same period last year.
Similarly, cotton arrival in Sindh was 3.453 million bales compared to 2.956 million bales recorded in September 30, an increase of 0.50 million bales or 16.8%. However, the YoY increase was more pronounced in Sindh, as cotton arrivals jumped by 111.2% as compared to 1.635 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.