Cotton arrivals have posted a 71 percent growth year-on-year till September 30, 2023, reaching 5 million bales compared to 2.93 million bales during the same period last year.
Cotton arrivals posted 71% YoY growth reaching 5.0mn bales
Cotton arrivals as of Sep 30, 2023, have exceeded the last full year figure of 4.9mn bales, reaching a total of 5.0mn bales (+71% YoY).
Pakistan: 5.0mn bales, +71% YoY
Punjab: 2.1mn bales, +34% YoY
Sindh: 3.0mn bales,… pic.twitter.com/HAoIiY4Y1j— Arif Habib Limited (@ArifHabibLtd) October 3, 2023
Sindh Cotton arrivals stood at 2.95 million bales clocking a 112.6 percent increase compared to 1.39 million bales during the same period last year (SPLY) while Punjab’s Cotton arrivals recorded a 33.9 percent increase reaching 2.06 million bales. Punjab and Sindh contributed 59 percent and 41 percent respectively to total cotton arrivals this year.
Pakistan’s most critical cash crop witnessed a 34 percent decline reaching a record low of 4.9 million bales during the 2022-23 sowing season and while this year’s prospects have been relatively better, the production target of 12.7 million bales seems far away due to the whitefly pest attacks.
“Whitefly has widely affected both the quantity and the quality of Cotton but still there are several Cotton Belt regions which are safe or have faced significantly less whitefly attacks compared to other regions. Experts are expecting the annual cotton production at around 8.5 million bales” stated Awais Tariq Director At Neelum Textiles while talking to ProPakistani
On the other hand, the textile industry which has not recovered from the brunt of rising energy prices and abnormally high interest rates is now struggling to cope with the continuous downward trend in the dollar price as mills do not want to stock big numbers, added Tariq.
September has always been characterized by these pest attacks by whiteflies and mill bugs but all stakeholders have failed to cope with this challenge. Though government and army aviation acted in time to deploy helicopters and drones to spray large areas, the sector needs a more proactive approach through investment in R&D to develop more sustainable solutions.
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