Pakistan’s cotton crisis shows no sign of easing. The latest Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) report, covering arrivals up to 30 November 2025, confirms a 1.1 percent year-on-year decline — small in percentage terms, but significant for a crop already operating far below national demand.
National arrivals totalled 5.13 million bales, down from 5.19 million last year. Sindh posted a modest gain of 53,332 bales, reaching 2.78 million, while Punjab — historically the backbone of Pakistan’s cotton economy — fell sharply by 110,437 bales, a drop of 4.49 percent.
According to Sajid Mahmood of the Central Cotton Research Institute (CCRI), Multan, the persistent slump stems from foundational weaknesses:
• No effective support price, leaving farmers to favour higher-margin crops like sugarcane and rice.
• Climate shocks, including erratic rainfall, extreme heat and drought.
• Pest pressure, especially whitefly and pink bollworm, which continue to overwhelm existing seed varieties.
Mahmood stressed that without genetically improved, pest-resistant cotton, Pakistan will continue to lose acreage and productivity.
PCGA data also shows 667,257 unsold bales in the system — including 509,830 pressed and 157,427 unginned. Meanwhile, commercial offtake stands at 4.46 million bales, slightly below last year’s 4.51 million. Across the country, 385 ginning units remain active: 206 in Punjab, **179 in Sindh.
These figures expose a structural imbalance: Pakistan’s textile industry requires over 15 million bales annually, yet domestic production meets barely one-third of that demand. The shortfall forces the country to rely on costly imports, draining foreign exchange and eroding competitiveness in an industry that underpins export earnings.
Provincial divergence — Sindh stabilising while Punjab declines — hints at uneven climate exposure and agronomic practices. Without coherent national action on seed technology, extension services and climate adaptation, this gap will widen further.
Reversing the decline requires:
• A credible, timely support price to restore farm-level incentives.
• Fast-track approval of modern seed technologies, including pest-resistant and climate-tolerant varieties.
• Integrated pest management and extension services to curb field losses.
• A national cotton revival strategy, aligning federal and provincial policies on seed regulation, water efficiency and ginner incentives.
The PCGA data is a reminder that Pakistan’s cotton challenge is no longer cyclical — it is structural. Without decisive reform, the country will remain trapped in a high-import, low-productivity cycle that undermines both agriculture and textiles.
