ISLAMABAD: Despite the cotton production target of 15 million bales set for this year by the Ministry of National Food Security and Research/Pakistan Central Cotton Committee (PCCC), the actual cotton production so far is anticipated at around 10 million bales.
According to sources, Sindh has reported a drop of 30pc in the expected cotton crop, while Punjab has posted a drop of 15pc as compared to the last year’s production.
They said that this shortfall of 33pc in cotton production would lower the GDP by 2pc, adding that the government would have to import at least five million bales to cater to its needs, which will increase the import bill substantially.
Sharing the details of expected cotton production, sources said that Punjab would produce 6.2 million bales, Sindh 3.9 million bales, while cotton production from Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces would be around 0.1 million bales.
“In total, approximately 10.2 million bales are expected to be produced, as against the target of 15 million bales,” sources said. “This is bad news for the country’s economy and the blame for this fiasco can squarely be placed on the Ministry of Food Security and the PCCC.”
Sources said the transfer of PCCC from the textile ministry to food security ministry was a parting gift from the previous government, which approved this transfer in its last cabinet meeting.
“The failure of cotton crop calls for the government to take urgent and immediate action to restructure PCCC with the private sector leadership,” sources said, stressing the need for a long-term stable and progressive textile and cotton policy.
As per the documents available with Pakistan Today, cotton crop is sown on 2.895 million hectares of land across the country.
Cotton crop is cultivated on 2.145 million hectares in Punjab and the target of cotton production from the province is 10.200 million bales. Similarly, Sindh grows cotton on 0.640 million hectares and its target is 4.600 million bales for this year.
Moreover, the cotton in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is grown on 0.01 million hectares and target for KP is 0.0002 million bales. Likewise, cotton is grown on 1.100 million hectares in Balochistan and its target for this year is 0.200 million bales.
It is pertinent to mention that the disclosure about cotton crop disaster was made during the first meeting of Cotton Crop Assessment Committee (CCAC), which was held on Friday under the chairmanship of Ministry of National Food Security and Research Additional Secretary Chaudry Muhammad Ayub.
The meeting assessed the volume of current cotton crop in the country. Representatives from the provincial governments of Sindh and Punjab, Plant Protection Department (DPPD), Trading Cooperation of Pakistan (TCP), Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department (FSC&RD), Pakistan Central Cotton Committee (PCCC), All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA), Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) and Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) were present on the occasion.
