Gohar Ejaz marks World Cotton Day by announcing record cotton yield in Pakistan.

LAHORE -- Caretaker Federal Minister for Industries and Commerce Gohar Ejaz has marked World Cotton Day by announcing that Pakistan has achieved record cotton production after a lapse of eleven years.

'Cotton arrivals crossing the five million bales mark on October 1, 2023, is a momentous achievement for Pakistan. This is even more than last full year's figure of 4.9 million bales, which was a 34 percent YoY (year on year) decline over the preceding year,' he added.

He was addressing a press conference here at APTMA House on Saturday. Caretaker Punjab Chief Minister Syed Mohsin Naqvi, APTMA (North) Chairman Kamran Arshad, Senior Vice Chairman Asad Shafi, former Chairman APTMA Syed Ali Ahsan, Secretary General Raza Baqir and other members were also present on the occasion.

Gohar said that World Cotton Day is being celebrated in the country after eleven years when Punjab had produced eight million bales, which was set to reach five million bales during the current year.

He also highlighted that the province had produced 3.3 million bales besides 1.6 million bales in Sindh.

He congratulated Punjab Chief Minister Syed Mohsin Naqvi, Chief Secretary Punjab and Secretary Agriculture Punjab for their dedicated work towards enhancing cotton production in the province. The country would save foreign exchange worth $ 3 billion with this increase in cotton production, he stressed.

According to him, Pakistan has become part of five major cotton producers in the world and all credit goes to the Punjab chief minister to achieve this stature. He also announced Rs 100 million fund for the Cotton Research Centre on behalf of APTMA, making it clear that APTMA would not fund salaries of the staff of the centre.

Gohar said, "This remarkable growth showcases the dedication and hard work of our farmers and the resilience of our cotton industry."

He said the cotton production this year is estimated to be more than 100 percent compared to that of the last year. The cotton bales produced this year are likely to be more than 12 million which was five million in the past year, he...