Islamabad backs a strengthened cess regime and governance overhaul to restore confidence in the cotton value chain.
Pakistan has endorsed a series of measures to revive its struggling cotton sector, after production fell a third below target in the 2025–26 season.
At an inter-ministerial meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, officials approved an implementation plan centred on revamping governance, strengthening research funding and ensuring industry ownership of reforms. Production is projected at just 6.85 million bales—far short of the 10.18 million-bale target—reflecting structural decline across 2 million hectares of cultivation.
The Cotton Commissioner presented a revival plan shaped by recommendations from the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA). While APTMA proposed creating an independent Cotton Board modelled on U.S. structures, the government argued that ongoing reforms—merging the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) with the Pakistan Central Cotton Committee (PCCC)—would address the governance gap.
Stakeholders also stressed the need for seed regulation. NSDRA pushed for representation in the apex body overseeing the revival plan, a proposal the committee fully endorsed.
A central issue was chronic underfunding of R&D. The cotton cess, stuck at Rs 50 per bale since 2011, has constrained PCCC performance. The meeting approved two major steps: implementing the cess rate in line with the ECC’s 2011 decision, and shifting collection to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). An MoU between MNFS&R, PCCC and FBR will detail procedures.
Further decisions included giving industry a majority in the PCCC/PCAC governing bodies, ensuring most cess revenue goes to cotton R&D, and expanding council membership to provinces, farmers, universities and seed companies.
The shift to FBR-administered cess collection and industry-majority governance signals a structural pivot: Islamabad is acknowledging that the cotton sector cannot recover without predictable funding, regulatory coherence and private-sector stewardship. With textile exports heavily dependent on stable raw-material supply, the reforms aim to stabilise a value chain facing declining yields, low seed quality and weak innovation capacity.
Implementation is the real test. Effective cess collection, transparent allocation to R&D and credible oversight of seed quality will determine whether Pakistan can close its yield gap and reduce import dependence. With the government reaffirming that revival will be industry-led under APTMA’s leadership, the coming year will show whether these measures can rebuild confidence and reverse a decade-long decline in the country’s most critical crop.
