Cotton fields in some areas are flooded and waterlogged due to excessive rains in Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan—the main cotton growing provinces in Pakistan. Government officials told local media that they are collecting authentic information about the extent of crop damage in Sindh and Balochistan provinces.

For the current cotton sowing season, the Pakistan government had earlier estimated the crop to be 11 million bales of 170 kg. Due to the current damage, if production goes down, the textile industry in the country will be compelled to import more cotton, fuelling prices in the international market. The global market is already facing heat of lower supply due to lower crop in the US, Brazil, China and other countries this year.

According to Fibre2Fashion’s market insight tool TexPro, Pakistan’s cotton import increased to 8.19 lakh bales in 2021 from 7.50 lakh bales in 2020. The country has already imported 2.16 lakh bales in the first four months of this year. If fears of extensive crop damage turn out to be true, cotton import by Pakistan will soar this year.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)