Pakistan's cotton output for the 2011-12 crop season is estimated to touch a record 15 million bales, as cotton cultivators have already sown the crop in over eight million acres of land. The area under cotton cultivation has gone up this year, as high domestic prices have persuaded many farmers to grow more of the crop.
Shortages of cotton and high prices in the world markets had pushed the spot prices of cotton in Pakistan to hit a high of PKR 14,000 or US$ 163 per 40 kg this season. However, as the new crop began to enter market last week, spot price of cotton came down to around PKR 8,000-9,000.
Cotton is Pakistan's main cash crop which accounts for 1.4 percent share in the country's gross domestic product (GDP). Hence, it is essential to boost cotton production in order to attain the economic growth target of 4.2 percent set for the 2011-12 fiscal year beginning July 1.
During fiscal 2010-11, Pakistan's economic growth plummeted to 2.4 percent. This can be partially attributed to the failure of sizeable cotton crop due to heavy floods in 2010, which led to a decrease in cotton output from an estimated 14 million bales to merely 11.70 million bales.
Fibre2fashion News Desk - India
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