The cotton crop prospects for the upcoming season (2016-17) are not very bright as sowing registered a significant decline of 11 percent compared to the same period of preceding year, official sources revealed.
Sources in the Ministry of Textile Industry told Business Recorder that due to uncertainty about cotton prices, increased sugarcane cultivation in the cotton areas and shortage of certified seed significant decline in cotton sowing was registered.
The government has downward revised cotton production target as well as area and fixed at 14.1 million bales from 7.4 million acres for the season 2016-17 against 15.49 million bales from 7.7 million acres estimated for the just concluded season 2015-16.
The country missed the crop production target by around 30 percent and it remained around 10 million bales, which according to Finance Minister caused 0.5 percent to GDP growth.
Punjab is expected to produce 9.5 million cotton bales from 5.9 million acres, Sindh will cover 1.6 million acres and is estimated to produce 4.5 million cotton bales, Balochistan will grow cotton on 0.12 million acres and is targeted to produce 0.4 million cotton bales, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will cover about 74000 acres and produce 0.0015 million cotton bales.
According to the official figure, cotton has been sown on 6.1 million acres of land in the current season across the country against 6.8 million acres during the same period of last year. About 80 percent of the target has been achieved, but it is 11 percent less than last year.
Officials said that decline in cotton sowing was recorded in Punjab which is the major cotton producing province. Punjab which produces about 70 percent of the total cotton has been hit hard as 4.8 million acres has so far been covered against 5.5 million acres during the same period of last year. It is 81 percent of the target for current season but remained 14.6 percent less as compared to the previous season.
According to sources sugarcane crop has overtaken the cotton rich areas of the province including Rahimyar Khan, Rajanpur, Muzaffargar and Lodhra. Cotton sowing also declined due to lower prices of cotton nationally and internationally during the last three years that discouraged growers who opted to cultivate maize, sugarcane and rice crops in some districts of Punjab due to their better market returns. There is still uncertainty as up and down is being observed in cotton prices due to which growers are reluctant to sow cotton crop, they added.
Up to 50 percent certified cotton seed is available in the market and growers are facing delay in getting certified seed, hence affecting sowing target, official maintained.
According to official, cotton has been sown on 1.45 million acres in Sindh province against 1.4 million acres during the same period of last year. It is 90 percent of the target set for the current season and surpassed the last year target.
Cotton Commissioner Dr Khalid Abdullah told Business Recorder that 82 percent of the target for current season has so far been achieved. He said that due to Ramazan sowing is also affected. Due to delay in cotton sowing, production would be negatively affected, said Commissioner, adding that following incentives announced for agriculture sector in the budget 2016-17, growers may motivate and give more focus to cotton crop.