By Muhammad Luqman

Pakistan’s cotton arrivals reached 3,208,402 bales by September 30, up 5.39% from the corresponding period last year, according to a report released by the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA).

Cotton arrivals stood at 3,044,409 bales during the same period last year, the report said.

In Punjab, arrivals totalled 1,214,951 bales, compared with 1,136,439 bales last year, an increase of 78,512 bales, or 6.91%. Sindh recorded arrivals of 1,993,451 bales, up from 1,907,970 bales a year earlier, representing an increase of 85,481 bales, or 4.48%.

Balochistan recorded 152,763 bales, compared with 112,990 bales last year, an increase of 39,773 bales, or 35.31%.

Among the major cotton-producing districts, Sanghar in Sindh recorded the highest arrivals at 984,312 bales, followed by Ghotki with 202,900 bales and Naushahro Feroze with 170,000 bales. In Punjab, Bahawalnagar recorded 276,700 bales, followed by Bahawalpur with 196,596 bales and Dera Ghazi Khan with 193,210 bales.

A total of 459 ginning factories are currently operational across the country, including 231 in Punjab and 228 in Sindh.

In terms of sales, 2,726,868 bales were sold to textile mills and 96,600 bales to exporters and traders, bringing total sales to 2,823,468 bales.

The report put the stock of unsold cotton at 384,934 bales, compared with 539,931 bales during the corresponding period last year.

Cotton experts, however, cautioned against complacency over the roughly 5% increase in arrivals, saying overall cotton production this year is projected at around 5.7 million bales, well below the target of 9.6 million bales.

“The crop has now entered a stage where the next few weeks will determine overall production and the quality of cotton,” said Sajid Mahmood, head of technology transfer at the Central Cotton Research Institute (CCRI), Multan.

Talking to Wealth Pakistan, he said that while the early-season performance was encouraging, the final output would depend on weather patterns, timely harvesting, lint quality, and managing pest pressure — particularly from pink bollworms.

Mahmood warned that even minor negligence in the coming weeks could erode the gains achieved through better early-season performance.

He said pink bollworm was emerging as the most significant threat to the crop in both Punjab and Sindh. Reports of infestations had been received from various areas of the two provinces, he added.

Cotton ginners, meanwhile, expressed concern over what they described as an unexpected slowdown in the growth of cotton arrivals this year.

“Just one month ago, cotton production was 27% higher than in the corresponding period last year. However, the increase has now narrowed to just 5%, raising concerns throughout the cotton sector,” Ehsan-ul-Haq, chairman of the Cotton Ginners Forum, told Wealth Pakistan.

He attributed the trend partly to above-normal temperatures in recent weeks, which had caused cotton bolls to open earlier than usual.

“Initially, this led to expectations of higher per-acre yields compared with last year, but those expectations have now been dashed,” he said.

The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) has expressed optimism that the increase in cotton arrivals will continue through the final stages of picking.

“Hopefully, the increase in production will improve the availability of locally produced raw material for textile mills,” said Raza Baqir, secretary general of APTMA.

However, he said textile mills would still need to import cotton this year, as domestic production was expected to fall short of the country’s total demand for the fibre.

Credit: INP-WealthPk