Rains, floods wreck cotton crop, endanger mangoes

KARACHI: The ongoing rains and floods in northern parts of the country have impacted some parts of the standing crop of cotton and are close to damaging rice, sugarcane and mango crops if the harsh monsoon weather prolongs, farmers said on Tuesday.
According to initial reports, the Kharif (April-September) 2015 crops spread over thousands of acres of land are in danger due to the rain and floods started last Thursday.
"Some 400,000 to 500,000 bales of cotton have been impacted in the area including Layyah, Rajanpur, Dera Ismail Khan and other parts of the country," said Naseem Usman, a broker at Karachi Cotton Exchange.
The weather condition has also ceased phutti (seed cotton) picking in areas, which were not badly impacted, he said, adding that this may result in increased cotton price at local market.
Waheed Ahmed, chairman Research and Development, Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters, Importers and Merchant Association (PFVA), said some 15 percent or around 175,500 tonne mango crop is in danger in areas including Multan and its surrounding Muzaffargarh and Rahim Yar Khan.
"If hailstorm and floods impact the area, the crop would not be harvested and the part harvested will have degraded quality,” he said, “The situation may cause us to miss our export target by a 100,000 tonne."
The previous four hailstorms in the current season have damaged around 70 percent crops in Punjab.
Abdul Majeed Nizamani, president of Sindh Abadgar Board, said the lower Sindh is estimated to lose 40 percent rice crop this season due to lack of rain in current monsoon season. "Winds coming from seaside carry various diseases which would cause the crop to degrade its quality, the right time of rain for the crop is between July 15 and August 15," he said.
Hamid Malhi, president Basmati Growers Association, however, said the ongoing rain and flood has caused no loss or damage to basmati paddy/rice crop in Punjab.
“It is too early to say whether floods would impact the crop or not,” he said, adding that the basmati crop would face damage only if flood inundates the land instead of passing through it.
"We are still sowing basmati in central and northern Punjab for current Kharif season,” he said, “Farmers have completed 80-85 percent sowing and rest of 15-20 percent would be completed by July-end.”
Sugarcane is another major crop of Kharif season. No loss of the crop is yet reported from any part of the country as the crop absorbs water. It has also potential to survive harsh monsoon weather conditions. However, floods, if enter cane area, would damage the crop, sources said.