Cotton production slows as white fly attacks crop.

KARACHI -- Pakistan has reported a jump of 62% in cotton production to 5.99 million bales in the first three and a half months of the current season, reducing reliance on imports significantly.

The production of the commodity, however, slowed down in recent weeks compared to the initial growth of around 80% as 'white fly attack, mainly in the south Punjab cotton region, reduced the yield by 10-15%,' Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) former vice chairman Muhammad Asim Saeed said while talking to The Express Tribune.

According to PCGA's latest fortnightly cotton arrival report released on Wednesday, the output stood at 3.70 million bales at the same time last year.

Saeed, who is also Vice President of the Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), said the revival of cotton production came after 'the government announced for the first time cotton support price (minimum purchase price) for the current season at Rs8,500 per 40 kg.'

The intervention price encouraged cotton growers to plant the crop over a larger area this year compared to the previous sowing season, giving a boost to the harvest.

Pakistan produced less than 5 million bales last year (FY23). The government initially estimated cotton production at over 12 million bales for the current season but the white fly attack forced a revision of the estimate to around 10 million bales, it has been learnt.

The output of 10 million bales is lower by 2 million bales compared to the country's average production of 12 million bales a year, Saeed said, adding that cotton production had peaked at 14.8 million bales in the recent past.

He pointed out that the cotton price had dropped below the support price to Rs7,000-7,500 per 40 kg and demanded that the government buy the commodity from growers to stabilise prices around the support level of Rs8,500.

Read Massive fall in cotton yield feared

He urged the government to activate the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) for cotton purchase from growers, as decided at...