Page 16 - TEXtalks. November-December 2022

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Cotton production on decline

for Pakistan since a decade

Pakistan produced 14.5 million cotton bales about a decade back. The production has been constantly on
decline after that. This year the cotton production slumped to 4.8 million bales only.

The crop was 2.9 bales shorter than last year. A decade back the local mills consumed 16-18 million bales
and the industry used to import 1.5-2 million bales. Cotton consumption in Pakistan also declined to 13-14
million bales. After this years’ crop failure, the industry would have to import around 7 million bales. Some
bigger players have already placed orders for 5 million bales. Most placed orders when the global cotton
prices were high and would find it hard to recover costs on prevailing yarn rates. The prices have come down
from $1.20 per pound to $0.85 per pound.

The spinning industry is already operating at 50 percent capacity due to shortage of cotton as well as reluc-
tance of weavers to lift yarn stocks that have piled up in mills. Cotton prices in the domestic and international
cotton markets are now stable. But the business volumes are also low.

The appreciating dollar is an added headache for spinners and ginners that intend to import cotton. The
problems are further aggravated due to the difficulties in opening Letter of Credit for import. Import from
China is slow due to corona restrictions as well as the ban on use of child labor tainted Chinese cotton in
exports to United States.

With sustainability taking the front seat,

Sapphire partner with Good Earth Cotton

Pakistani manufacturers have started to partner with science, and metrics, the program delivers tangible
the Good Earth Cotton programme to choose benefits to growers – including land restoration,
traceable materials cultivated using sustainable and enhanced soil and pasture biodiversity, and
regenerative farming techniques instead of the improved natural resource use efficiency – while
conventional methods. It encourages and caters conserving, protecting and enhancing natural
growers, manufacturers and brands to back and ecosystems. Alongside, growers are presented with
additional value for their fibre, improving rural
choose their endeavours with traceability and livelihoods and communities.
authenticity.
“Innovation and development is a driving philosophy
The Good Earth Cotton claims to be Earth’s only at Sapphire Textile Mills. Partnering with Good Earth
climate positive and traceable cotton that empowers Cotton is an essential step for us, as suppliers of
global producers, communities, and members of the sustainable products, to provide our customers with
textile supply chain as agents of change through an accurate and timely information backed by science
environmentally beneficial approach to global cotton and transparency,” said Nabeel Abdullah, director at
and agriculture. Through co-creation of knowledge, Sapphire Textile Mills Limited.

November/December 2022