Cotton arrival in Pakistan witnessed a significant increase of 13.3% as of October 31 compared to October 15, showed the latest fortnightly data released by the Pakistan Cotton Ginner’s Association (PCGA) on Friday.
As per the report, total cotton arrival in Pakistan rose to 6.791 million bales compared to 5.996 million bales recorded on October 15, 2023, an increase of 0.795 million bales.
On a year-on-year basis, cotton arrival in surged by over 83%, when compared to 3.708 million bales registered on October 31, 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 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 31, cotton arrival in Punjab clocked in at 2.994 million bales as compared to 2.543 million bales reported on October 15, 2023, an increase of 17.7%. On a yearly basis, cotton arrivals from Punjab jumped by 44.5%, as compared to 2.072 million bales clocked in during the same period last year.
Similarly, cotton arrival in Sindh was 3.797 million bales compared to 3.453 million bales recorded in October 15, an increase of 0.344 million bales or 10%. However, the YoY increase was more pronounced in Sindh, as cotton arrivals jumped by 132.2% as compared to 1.635 million bales registered in SPLY.
Exports of Pakistan’s textile sector showed growth in October, clocking in at $1.43 billion compared to $1.36 billion recorded in the same month of the previous year, a year-on-year increase of over 5%, showed provisional data released by the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) on Thursday.
This is the first month when textile exports have posted a year-on-year increase during 2023.