Cotton stockpiling fell a massive 43 percent to 3.45 million bales till October 31, raising concerns that the country would have to import at least 7.0 million bales worth $3 billion to fulfil domestic demand, industry officials said on Tuesday.
The government projects cotton production to reach 10.
98m bales for this season while the country produced over 8.5m bales in the last season.
Dr Mal said that the poor quality of seeds, lack of awareness among growers on fertiliser use and the failure of the governments federal and provincial in managing pest attacks are the reasons behind the consistent decline in cotton production over the last few years.
Textile companies will have to rely more on imports, which carry duties and taxes at the import stage. This will naturally make them less competitive than regional peers, he added.
Mirpur Khas and Sanghar districts in Sindh incurred huge losses on account of heavy monsoon rains. As a result, the province suffered 25 percent crop loss.
In Punjab, the affected districts were DG Khan, Muzzafar Garh, Rajanpur and Multan.
In the last decade, cultivation in core cotton zones declined due to unwarranted increase in sugarcane production.
With setting up of sugar factories in core cotton districts including Multan, Lodhran, Khanewal, Vehari, Muzaffargarh, Layyah, DG Khan, Rajanpur, Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar and RY Khan, cotton area under cultivation has been on the decline, further reducing output in the country.
