The cotton crop is planted on 15 percent of arable land. The sector also generates 8 percent of Gross Domestic Product and over 50 percent of foreign exchange earnings, largest of any other product. The integrated cotton and textile sector includes 1,050 ginneries, 430 textile mills, and 350 cottonseed crushers and oil refiners.

Pakistan’s 2019/20 cotton production is forecast at 1.74 m metric tons (MMT), up 109.000 tons from the revised 2018/19 estimate. This year, the area devoted to cotton is projected to increase to 2.5 m hectares (MHA) as forecasts of firmer global cotton prices and new Government support for planting seed purchases and minimum support prices are expected to encourage some farmers to shift to cotton production.

Sufficient water availability and new seeds

Cotton yields are expected to recover from the last year based on improved water and certified seed availability to the farming community. Based on sufficient rainfall during February- March and heavy snowfall, the water availability is expected to remain normal for ensuing summer crops.

2019/20 yield is projected at 697 kg per hectare, 3 percent higher over the current year’s estimate of 680 kg per hectare. Seaons’s 2018/19 production is estimated at 1,6 m tons. This production was realized from 2.4 m hectares, 11 percent down from the last year’s level.

Consumption

MY 2019/20 consumption is forecast at 2.3 MMT. Consumption is largely unchanged over the past decade and the modest year-to-year increase reflects a higher domestic crop tempered by higher cotton prices. Pakistan is a net importer of cotton, primarily due to strong demand for better grades of cotton for blending and for producing export-oriented quality textile products. Pakistan’s imports during 2019/20 are likely to remain at the last year’s level of 650.000 tons.

Source: USDA/FAS, Cotton and Products Annual 2019, Pakistan, April 2019

Excerpt from Bremen Cotton Report No. 17/18 – May 2019.

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