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Estimate for cotton production scaled down
KARACHI-Cotton Crop Assessment Committee has scaled down its
earlier estimate for cotton production in the country from
10.8 to 10.4 million bales for the current season.
This decision was taken at the fourth meeting, held under the
chairmanship of the Advisor to the Chief Executive on
Food,Agriculture and Livestock M. Shafi Niaz at Karachi Cotton
Association here Thursday.
The meeting was attended by the senior government officials
including the Chairman TCP, vice chairman PCCC, senior
officials of Cotton Research Institutes, Multan, Faisalabad
and Sakrand, representatives of the provincial agriculture
departments, APTMA,PCGA, KCA and the grower members both from
Sindh and the Punjab.
While reviewing the situation of the current cotton crop on
the basis of information and data from Sindh and Punjab, the
committee felt that after pest attack in Punjab and water
shortage in Sindh the cotton production is likely to decline
by 400,000
bales, mostly in Punjab.
The meeting was told that almost 10 percent of the cultivated
area under cotton was ploughed up by farmers after first
picking in major cropping area of Pubjab.Similarly, there were
reports of pest attack on the standing crop damaging the upper
balls in Punjab.Based on the data and statistics, it was
decided that Punjab will have 8.4 million bales while Sindh
1.9 million bales and Balochistan 100,000 bales this year.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr Niaz said that crop was bumper in
major cotton growing areas in Punjab.
He specially highlighted the extra care being taken at ginning
factories to supply contamination free cotton in Rahimyar
Khan, Multan, Lodhran, Khanpur, etc. He said there were
reports of locating yellow spot in the cotton lint but these
were cleared by women working at these ginning factories.
The meeting was told that the area under cotton was up by 7
percent to 3.125 million hectares against the target of 2.56
million hectares and 2.93 million hectares sown last year. In
the Punjab, the current cotton crop area sown was 7.3% higher
than the last year, whereas it declined by 0.7% in Sindh.
The area brought under cotton crop in Balochistan was reported
at 0.41 million hectares as against 0.17 million of last
year.The Committee was informed that based on last five years
experience, about 47 percent of the crop has reached ginning
factories while 53 percent is yet come to the ginneries.It was
pointed out that cotton research institutes were facing acute
shortage of funds for research and all stakeholder including
growers, ginners and textile mills must arrange funds for
research.
The slow arrival of cotton was attributed to the late sowing
of crop in many parts of the Sindh and the Punjab as well as
the holding of the produce by the farmers to some extent in
the hope of better prices.
November 24, 2001
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