Cotton output target missed by 41% amid weather woes, crop shift

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s cotton production plunged 41 per cent below target in the 2024-25 season, hitting just 6.42 million bales against a projected 10.87 million, after extreme weather, pest outbreaks and shifting crop patterns battered yields, officials said Friday.

Cotton is Pakistan’s second-largest cash crop and a backbone for its textile industry, which accounts for about 60 per cent of export earnings. Punjab, the country’s largest cotton-growing province, missed its target by more than half, producing only 3.18 million bales, or 48 per cent of its goal, following a 22 per cent decline in cultivated area. Farmers increasingly switched to sesame after delayed wheat harvesting and lower wheat prices squeezed profits, according to government data. Sindh met 72 per cent of its target, harvesting 2.82 million bales, while Balochistan fared better, achieving 89 per cent (or 0.423 million bales) of its goal.

Overall, cotton cultivation area shrank to 2.04 million hectares -- well short of the 3.12-million-hectare target -- as unseasonal heatwaves, heavy rains 51 per cent above normal, and whitefly infestations ravaged crops, particularly in Sindh and Balochistan.

The production shortfall was disclosed during a high-level review chaired by Food Security Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain. Officials from the Pakistan Central Cotton 

Committee and other departments warned that without decisive action, Pakistan’s crucial textile sector could face raw material shortages and rising import bills.

In response, the government set a higher target of 10.56 million bales for 2025-26, planning to increase the cultivation area to 2.4 million hectares. Key measures include expanding cotton planting in Balochistan, introducing improved seed varieties, mechanical pickers, and high-density farming techniques.

Officials also proposed excluding Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) from future cotton targets due to sugarcane’s dominance there, while prioritising Punjab and Sindh. Under the Green Pakistan Initiative, restrictions on competing crops like sugarcane, maize and rice will be enforced on new lands designated for cotton.