Output of 8.2m lint bales falls short of local needs

Pakistan has so far produced 8.2 million bales of cotton as both Punjab and Sindh provinces have had almost equal output during 2023-24. The Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) on Thursday reported that the country produced 8.258m bales by Jan 15, which is 3.3m bales or 67 per cent more than the total yield of the previous crop year when the country could produce only 4.9m bales mainly due to devastating rains and floods in the cotton belt. Sindh has so far yielded 4.1m bales, just 57,000 bales less than Punjab, which usually produces more lint than the former. Of them, exporters, including a private company, have purchased 292,000 bales, textile mills 7.478m bales, while ginners are still holding 487,000 bales. Presently, 165 ginning factories are operational.