There was wave of hope when the stats showed a big rise in the textile exports but all that profit was rotated back in business due to the fact that Pakistan has almost zero cotton production of its own. 1.5 billion dollars were spent in the first five months of the current fiscal year to import textile related accessories and machinery.
Textile goods that are being imported are raw cotton, synthetic fibre, synthetic and artificial silk yarn, worn clothing and other textile items that cost a total $1.545bn. 50pc increase in the import of textile group has been documented the five months of this fiscal.
It is predicted by the cotton and textile experts that by the end of third quarter of FY21, the import of cotton could cross $1bn. Textile exports increased by 7.8 per cent in the first six months of the current fiscal year to reach at $7.442bn. In dollar terms, the increase was of $538 million. However, the textile sector had to spend $321m to import raw cotton in the first five months of the same fiscal year.
Due to the heavy rains, the cotton crop was damaged beyond repair in the second half of 2020. Due to this, the provisional cotton yield was estimated to be 47.3pc short of the FY21 target in Sindh, and 9.4pc shy of the annual target for Punjab says the SBP. The seed germination will be a major problem to maintain plant population as field tests show the range of 40-60pc germination against the normal requirement of more than 80pc. Under the current situation, farmers must use double the seed to maintain plant population advises the Cotton and Textile Industry.
