Agriculture: Lint is losing out to sugar

The struggles of the cotton crop continue as its challenges are unending. The desired production targets elude growers and industry. Last year seed cotton production in Sindh and Balochistan was hit mainly by flooding and torrential rains, leading to a 46 per cent loss in production in Sindh alone, according to some reports. This year’s harvest started early, especially in Sindh. Farmers were selling their harvest for Rs8,500, or a little over Rs9,000, after the federal government fixed Rs8,500 support price in line with the demand of the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) — the only end user of the crop in Pakistan. Pakistan Economic Survey 2022-23 reported that cotton production recorded a 0.3pc contribution to GDP and 1.4pc of value added in agriculture. The area under cotton recorded a growth of 10.7pc, but production remained low at 4.910 million bales (against 2021-22’s 8.329m bales), showing a dip of 41pc.