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About 10.5m bales cotton output likely this year

Recorder Report

Lahore: The members of Standing Committee on Cotton Crop Assessment has estimated 10.5 million bales (Punjab 8.3 million and Sindh 2.2 million bales) to 10.7 million bales (Punjab 8.5 and Sindh 2.2 million bales) on ex-farm basis.

According to a press release of the Pakistan Central Cotton Committee, the meeting of the Standing Committee on Cotton Crop Assessment was held here on Monday, which was presided by M. Shafi Niaz, member National Security Council.

The committee discussed the flow of seed cotton arrivals into ginning factories and observed that by February 15, 9.49 million bales had already reached the ginning factories as against 7.01 million bales arrived by that date last year.

Of the total arrivals, 7.5 million bales of cotton was purchased by the textile mills, whereas 0.156 million bales and 0.19 million bales was sold to the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) and private exporters respectively.

The committee was informed that there was still a stock of 1.25 million bales lying with ginners. Overall, there was an increase of 35.43 percent in arrivals by February 5 than that of last year.

The committee also reviewed the trends of seed cotton arrivals during the last five years and observed that by February 15, around 94.3 percent of the crop reached the ginning factories. Accordingly, an additional quantity equivalent to 5.7 percent was yet to arrive.

The committee also discussed the repercussions of levying the GST on cotton at the ginning stage and recommended that it should either be done away as it does not fulfil the basic objectives, or be levied at the yarn stage.

The committee members lauded the decision of the government to induct TCP into procurement of the crop and recommended its involvement right from the early season next year.

It was attended by all concerned with cotton production, consumption, and trade, besides officials of the Agriculture Department.