In a move that would be laughable if it were not so tragic, Pakistan’s government has finally decided to pay attention to the cotton crisis.
Of course what that means is that the government has been pressured enough to “mull over” half baked measures that might appease members of a textile industry that is in free fall rather than actually go to the heart of the problem and address the concerns of the farmers that grow the cotton in the first place.
The Ministry of National Food Security and Research has endorsed a set of proposals to lift the 18% sales tax on domestic cotton and its byproducts. Alternatively, they suggest that imports of cotton, yarn, and grey cloth be taxed at the same rate. This gesture, coming after urgent appeals from the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association and the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association, reeks of too little, too late.
These proposals, hurriedly pushed forward to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif after a high-profile media campaign by the industry, are an attempt to resuscitate a sector that has been on life support for over a decade. But a tax adjustment is a Band-Aid on a hemorrhage, and that too for the wrong patient. The rot runs much deeper.
Only three ginning factories are currently operational in Punjab. A few more in Sindh are expected to begin operations. This is not revival. This is slow-motion decay. If the current trend continues, industry leaders warn that processing units could run at less than half their capacity in the coming season.
Cotton is not just another crop. It is the very thread that once stitched together Pakistan’s rural economy and industrial ambitions. It is one of five “major crops” in the government’s own agricultural classification. These five crops form the basic matrix of household security and national food economics. And among these, cotton has suffered the most severe decline, with a drop of more than 30 percent in yield this year alone. The content in this publication is expensive to produce. But unlike other journalistic outfits, business publications have to cover the very organizations that directly give them advertisements. Hence, this large source of revenue, which is the lifeblood of other media houses, is severely compromised on account of Profit’s no-compromise policy when it comes to our reporting. No wonder, Profit has lost multiple ad deals, worth tens of millions of rupees, due to stories that held big businesses to account. Hence, for our work to continue unfettered, it must be supported by discerning readers who know the value of quality business journalism, not just for the economy but for the society as a whole.To read the full article, subscribe and support independent business journalism in Pakistan
