Fly attacks, low quality seeds cause 33pc cut in cotton production

ISLAMABAD: Use of low-quality seeds and pink bollworm and whitefly attacks on the cotton have so far caused a 33 percent reduction in the crop output, said a government official on Thursday.   

Cotton Commissioner Dr Khalid Abdullah informed the Senate Standing Committee on Textile Industry that 9.48 million of cotton bales have as yet arrived in the market as against 14.25 million bales in the same period of last year.

Abdullah attributed the decline to the abnormal weather, poor seed quality and pests and diseases attacks. Low prices offered to the common farmers in market also played a major rule in this dip.

The ministry of textile informed the committee that cotton production in Punjab declined 44 percent while the decline was four percent in Sindh.  

The committee expressed serious concerns over the abrupt and phenomenal decline in cotton production. 

Members of the committee also criticised the government for the poor policy response and indifference towards the country’s top export oriented sector, which they said was one of the major bottlenecks to the development and growth of the sector. 

Cotton and cotton products contribute around 10 percent to Pakistan’s GDP and 55 percent to foreign exchange earning of the country. It is also a major input of the textile industry.

There are 400 textile mills, 1,000 ginneries and 300 oil expellers across the country. The industry provides livelihood to millions of farmers and labourers. 

The Cotton Committee Crop Assessment Committee has already revised the cotton production estimates for the June to March period to 10.85 million bales (170-kilogram each) from the earlier estimate of 13.3 million bales as the whitefly attack wreaked havoc with the crop, already reeling from rainfalls and harsh weather.   

The government estimated 7.5 million bales from the Punjab, which is the major producer of cotton, as compared to 10.5 million bales estimated earlier. Sindh was projected to produce 4.4 million bales, but it was revised down to 3.4 million bales due to the disease.    

Abdullah said low price also eroded the interest of the farmers in the crop production. They got phutti price between Rs1,800 to 2,300/40 kg in the month of August-September. 

Cotton production stood at 13.48 million bales in 2014 as compared to 12.8 million bales in 2013 with the existing cotton varieties, but favourable weather conditions.

During the current season, adverse weather, including high temperature and heavy rains affected the plant growth and development.

There was also inefficient weed management. Whitefly infestation remained higher during the months of July-September, which is usually a crucial cotton fruiting period. 

The commissioner said pink bollworm severely damaged the crop. The boll damage was observed during the August-October period.

He further said the farmers could not control the pink bollworm infestation due to non-vigilance of farmers about the extent of pest infestation and unavailability of adequate pesticides.

If the cotton production is low, it will impact textile exports, and resultantly a serious crisis of balance of payment could occur.

In the July-Dec 2015-16 period, the economy sold abroad textiles and its products worth $6.27 billion, down 8.9 percent over the same period last year. Textile export proceeds amounted to $13.47 billion in the fiscal year of 2014-15.