MULTAN City News

Cotton arrival shows 13.93pc decrease

From Our Correspondent

MULTAN: The Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) has urged the government to patronise cotton growers and ensure purchase of produce on fair prices to boost up the production up to 20 million bales.

Talking to newsmen here on Thursday, PCGA newly-elected chairman Dr Jeso Mal also urged the government to take steps to boost up per acre cotton production. He said that Pakistan would have to spend Rs 40 billion to purchase at least 4 million bales of cotton from different countries this year to run its textile as well as the value-added industry.

According to the fortnightly report of the PCGA, the Punjab had shown 40.76 per cent less production of cotton this year.

Seed cotton (Phutti) equivalent to over 2,645,349 bales of cotton had reached ginneries across the country as of September 30, 2016, showing a decrease of 13.93 per cent as compared to the corresponding period last year when the ginneries received 3,073,325 bales.

Out of the total arrival, 2.645 million bales of cotton had been converted into bales so far. The ginning factories in the Punjab recorded arrival of 788,699 bales, showing decrease of 40.78 per cent. The Sindh ginneries recorded arrival of 1,856,650 bales while the last year Sindh had received 1,741,486 bales, showing 6.61 per cent increase.

The textile mills bought 1,981,338 bales while the exporters bought 67,391 bales. Total bales sold out so far were calculated at 2,048,727 bales.

Multan received 15,983 bales (21.5 per cent increase), Lodhran 13,960 bales (31.86pc decrease), Khanewal 146,738 bales (39.28pc decrease), Muzaffargarh 30,093 bales (39.75pc decrease), Dera Ghazi Khan 21,756 bales (58.63pc decrease), Rajanpur 28,490 bales (54.44pc decrease), Layyah 27,905 bales, Vehari 85,065 bales (52.97pc decease), Sahiwal 81,201 bales (46.76pc decrease), Pakpattan 21,120 bales (60.76pc decrease), Okara 10,000 bales (56.84pc decrease), Kasur zero, Toba Tek Singh 55,139 bales, Faisalabad 17,093 bales, Jhang 11,475 bales, Mianwali 27,380 bales, Bhakkar 15,740 bales, Sargodha 1,700 bales, Rahimyar Khan 18,058 bales (42.56pc decrease), Bahawalpur 54,050 bales, Bahawalnagar 105,750 bales, Hyderabad 157,538 bales (6.36pc increase), Mirpur Khas (Thar) 182,468 bales (13.52pc decrease), Sangarh 955,203 bales (4.15pc increase), Nawabshah 164,011 bales, Naushero Feroze 89,027 bales, Khairpur 59,077 bales, Ghotki zero, Sukkur 96,155 bales, Dadu 35,309 bales, Jamshoro 82,657 bales and Balochistan 38,273 bales.

Total 640 ginning factories are operational in the country. Of them, 391 are in the Punjab and 249 in Sindh. Total 596,622 bales are lying in ginneries as unsold stock.