There was a slump in local production of cotton during 2015 in Pakistan. So, this time the ministry of textile industry wants cabinet support for an action plan to ensure the country’s textile manufacturers receive enough cotton supplies.
According to government data, Pakistan’s cotton production dropped 33.85 per cent to 9.71 million bales during this past 2015 growing season. The fall was particularly pronounced in Punjab province. Pest attacks, inferior inputs and sliding prices are key reasons for the low output, ministry officials say.
The ministry has recommended waiving sales tax and duties on cotton imports to help support mills in the short term. Along with this a minimum support price for Pakistan-produced cotton to stem the trend of growers switching to other crops in wake of falling global prices. The ministry wants to ensure a ready supply of local raw materials for small- and medium-sized textile units that lack the capacity to import directly.
As per figures, the annual cotton requirement of the textile industry is 16 million bales against the local production of 9.7 million bales this year. The gap is wide and may grow if the government does not address the issue.
The country produced 14.71 million bales in the same period of last year against domestic demand of 15 million bales from the textile industry. According to the Pakistan Cotton Ginners’ Association (PCGA), cotton output dipped to 5.95 million bales in Punjab during the last growing season from 10.74 million bales harvested a year earlier (2014). Sindh province’s production fell marginally to 3.77 million bales, compared with 3.96 million bales in the previous year.
Many experts opine that the government has never been sensitive to the rural economy. And the current policies might drag the country into losing its inherent strength in agriculture. But Khawaja Anis, president of the Pakistan Cotton Ginners’ Association, has gone on record saying that the industry was happy to import cotton, as long as it was cheap:
