Irfan Khan
LAHORE: Pakistan is struggling to achieve a decent cotton output this year if the arrival of 5.5 million bales reported by the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) on Jan 18 is any guide.
Overall, the country’s cotton production is estimated to decline during the present marketing year by almost a third to 5.7m bales from 8.3m bales last year and 60pc from 13.9m bales in 2014. The cotton arrivals from Punjab are reported to have dropped by 30.6pc and Sindh by 38.7pc.
According to PCGA Chairman Jassu Mal, the phutti arrivals at the ginning factories are the lowest in more than three decades resulting in the closure of 800 factories out of a total of 1,200, loss of tens of thousands of jobs and reduced income for cotton-picker women.