Pakistan and India are streamlining their cotton productivity to take their textile exports to $50 billion and $100 billion respectively. The two South Asian textile giants have optimized their production of goods and services in which they have a competitive advantage, and further diversified their export baskets to enter an abundance of untapped markets. They have also tapped into high-tech, high-value-added products. The demand for MMF-based apparel has grown exponentially, owing to the convenience it affords.
India is the 2nd and Pakistan is the 4th largest cotton producer in the country. However, cotton and textiles in Pakistan suffer from a lack of quality research and application. In Pakistan, this major sector is faced with frequent hurdles such as import restrictions on critical inputs, and long delays in the approval of import permits. The industry has a longstanding demand of focusing more on primary commodities and making the much overdue shift towards secondary and tertiary sectors – manufactured, nontraditional goods, and value-added services.
The government of India is confident that the 2022 to 2023 crop year for cotton will total around 34.19 million 170 kilogram bales, up from 31.2 million bales in the 2021 to 2022 crop year.
Pakistan will produce around 5.5 million bales, as its cotton production had shrunk 19% to 2.19 million bales in the current season mainly due to the devastation caused by heavy rainfall and flash floods nationwide.
