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Country may need to import cotton to plug demand-supply gap
06 Jan '09
2 min read
Pakistan may face a shortage in this cotton season as production is expected to fall below targets according to the Karachi Cotton Association. They project that the country may have to import cotton on a large scale to feed the textile mills of the country. They in turn, blame the government for this piquant situation.
They cite irrigated water shortage and lopsided policies of the government for this crisis. They also hold the Central Cotton Committee responsible for the shortage. According to statistics revealed by the Pakistan Ginners Association (PGA), the total arrivals of cotton bales amounted to 9,744,546 bales.
Out of this the statistics reveal that 7,432,543 bales were bought by the textile mills, 97,400 by the TCP and 254,431 bales by the exporters. They foresee that the remaining stocks available may not suffice the needs of the country and the country will have to resort to large scale imports to fulfill the demand-gap of the white gold in the country.
The farmers are using 45 percent of Bt cotton variety of seed to grow the crop in the country of which 90 percent of the variety is cultivated in Sindh province. But despite using the Bt cotton seeds production of the crop is not up to the mark. Experts blame the poor quality of the Bt cotton seed as the main reason for the low yield.
Against a demand of 62,000 tons of the cotton seed in the country, the availability of the seed is only 39,845 tons or 64 percent of the requirement. The rest of the requirement is met through informal channels. Last year the country had fallen short of its target even though it was lowered from the initial estimates.
They cite irrigated water shortage and lopsided policies of the government for this crisis. They also hold the Central Cotton Committee responsible for the shortage. According to statistics revealed by the Pakistan Ginners Association (PGA), the total arrivals of cotton bales amounted to 9,744,546 bales.
Out of this the statistics reveal that 7,432,543 bales were bought by the textile mills, 97,400 by the TCP and 254,431 bales by the exporters. They foresee that the remaining stocks available may not suffice the needs of the country and the country will have to resort to large scale imports to fulfill the demand-gap of the white gold in the country.
The farmers are using 45 percent of Bt cotton variety of seed to grow the crop in the country of which 90 percent of the variety is cultivated in Sindh province. But despite using the Bt cotton seeds production of the crop is not up to the mark. Experts blame the poor quality of the Bt cotton seed as the main reason for the low yield.
Against a demand of 62,000 tons of the cotton seed in the country, the availability of the seed is only 39,845 tons or 64 percent of the requirement. The rest of the requirement is met through informal channels. Last year the country had fallen short of its target even though it was lowered from the initial estimates.
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