KARACHI (Web Desk) — Pakistan’s cotton production has fallen by more than 60% over the past decade, with weak enforcement of crop zoning regulations and the expansion of sugarcane cultivation in traditional cotton-growing areas cited as major factors behind the decline.
Cotton Ginners Forum Chairman Ehsanul Haq said the establishment of new sugar mills in cotton-producing areas had further undermined cotton cultivation, calling for strict implementation of crop zoning laws to revive the sector.
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In a statement, Haq said the government should prioritise protecting cotton-growing areas from the expansion of competing crops before focusing on secondary measures, including improvements to cotton research stations.
He also advocated establishing a legally empowered Pakistan Cotton Board under the leadership of the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA). The proposed board would oversee the Pakistan Central Cotton Committee (PCCC) and its subordinate institutions, according to the proposal outlined by Haq.
He said a high-level meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar about a year ago had reportedly decided to establish the board, although implementation had been delayed. Recent indications suggested that progress on the initiative had begun.
The proposed body could include representatives of the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA), Karachi Cotton Association (KCA), Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), National Textile Education Council, private seed companies and relevant government institutions.
Haq said declining domestic cotton production and quality had deepened the financial difficulties facing the cotton industry and increased Pakistan’s reliance on imported cotton and edible oil, adding pressure to the country’s import bill.
He urged federal and provincial governments to enforce crop zoning regulations and upgrade the Pakistan Meteorological Department to provide farmers with timely, reliable weather forecasts that could help improve agricultural planning.
Meanwhile, domestic cotton markets remained under pressure last week amid financial uncertainty in the sector, limited purchasing by textile mills, imports of yarn and fabric under the Export Facilitation Scheme, and inspections of cotton ginning factories by government agencies.
Cotton prices declined by Rs200 per maund to Rs18,500, Haq said.
He also pointed to reports of financial irregularities involving billions of rupees in Faisalabad’s yarn market and millions of rupees at some cotton ginning factories in Sindh, saying the reported cases had heightened concern across the industry.
Haq called for coordinated policy measures to restore cotton cultivation, strengthen research and improve institutional oversight, arguing that effective implementation of crop zoning laws was central to reversing the sector’s prolonged decline.
