Continuous decline in cotton

production
For a long time I did not write a column on the most important sector of
agriculture, textile, but due to the continuous decline in cotton production and
shifting of cultivation area to sugarcane, our cotton production fell from 14 million
bales to 8 million bales per annum. There was a need to write on this important
topic. Pakistan was the world's second largest producer of cotton in the 80's, the
third in the 90's and the fourth largest a few years ago, but due to the continuous
decline in cotton production, today Pakistan ranks fifth in the world. China is
ranked second, India second, the United States third and Brazil fourth. One of the
major reasons for the decline in cotton production in Pakistan is research and
development in cotton seeds (R&D). D) Absence of, use of fake and substandard
seeds and medicines. In addition, due to contamination of Pakistani cotton during
ginning such as polythene, fertilizers and bones, the prices of our cotton yarn and
other textile products are reduced in the global market as a maximum of 2%
pollution in cotton globally. While Pakistan's cotton pollution rate is 6% which
affects the quality of our textile products. As the Advisor to the Prime Minister on
Textiles, I had started an Awareness Campaign on Cotton Pollution with Aptma
and premium was paid on the prices of low polluted cotton but the campaign was
more successful due to uneducated people associated with the sector. Could not
The pollution rate is 6% which affects the quality of our textile products. As the
Advisor to the Prime Minister on Textiles, I had started an Awareness Campaign
on Cotton Pollution with Aptma and premium was paid on the prices of low
polluted cotton but the campaign was more successful due to uneducated people
associated with the sector. Could not The pollution rate is 6% which affects the
quality of our textile products. As the Advisor to the Prime Minister on Textiles, I
had started an Awareness Campaign on Cotton Pollution with Aptma and
premium was paid on the prices of low polluted cotton but the campaign was
more successful due to the uneducated people associated with the sector. Could
not
Our second major problem is the production of cotton per acre which is much less
than that of India in the region. India has increased its cotton production from 18
million bales to 30 million bales using standard Bt cotton seeds and today
Pakistan, Pak-India are importing 2 2 million worth of cotton annually from Brazil
and other countries due to trade closure. The price of cotton in the local market
has reached the highest level of Rs 9,700 per quintal. The second major reason for
the decline in cotton production is the shifting of cotton cultivation area to
sugarcane due to pressure and influence of sugar mill owners, which has reduced
the area under cotton cultivation from 3.4 million hectares to 2.5 million hectares.
Left and this year cotton production fell by 30% to only 7. Production is expected
to be 5 to 8 million bales, which is only 60% of the requirement of our textile
industry. Continued decline in cotton production is costing the country 8 ‫ ڈالر‬billion
a year in GDP. According to a recent report by the International Cotton Advisory
Committee (ICAC), four countries: the United States, India, China and Brazil
produce 73% of the world's cotton, with India leading with 25%, China second
with 23%, the United States third with 15% Brazil is in fourth place with 10%. The
report states that in 2019-20, the world cotton production 22. 9 million tonnes
while production is expected to be 25 million tonnes in 2020-21 and India will
become the world's largest producer of cotton with 12 million hectares of cotton,
while Pakistan will produce less than 15 million bales of cotton. 7 to 8 million
bales will be left and we will have to import about 4 to 5 million bales of cotton
every year which will badly affect our textile industry as cotton is the raw material
of our textile industry. Importing such a large quantity of cotton not only puts an
unbearable burden on foreign exchange reserves but also increases our
production cost from imported cotton which makes our textile products
uncompetitive in the international market resulting in our 13 13 billion textile
exports. May decrease Our textile industry is 65% dependent on cotton yarn while
the use of polyester yarn in textile products in Pakistan is about 35%. We need
polyester yarn Increased use will reduce dependence on cotton yarn. Cotton yarns
and polyester yarns account for 50% of the world's textile production. Pakistan's
share in global textile exports is only 2%, while India's share is 4% and
Bangladesh's 7%. To take advantage of this opportunity, we have to alleviate the
financial difficulties of our exporters and in particular the FBR has to pay sales tax
refunds to small commercial exporters on priority basis so that they can take
advantage of these new opportunities. It is the responsibility of the Cotton Task
Force to introduce modern technology and more productive seeds for the
production of raw material cotton in the textile sector and the process of using
the cotton acreage for sugarcane cultivation based on political influence. Should
be stopped immediately so as to prevent the cotton production from continuously
declining. My government is proposing that the country's agricultural sector,
which for decades