A recent report of the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) raised serious concerns over the final output of cotton, citing heatwaves, heavy rains, floods, and spread of cotton leaf curl virus.
The PCGA in its report raised concerns over the final output despite reporting 40% increase in cotton arrivals (as of September 15, 2025) across the country as compared to the previous year.
Speaking to Business Recorder, Sajid Mahmood, Head of the Technology Transfer Department at the Central Cotton Research Institute (CCRI) Multan, stated that during the current season Punjab recorded 690,254 bales showing a 28% increase over last year while Sindh’s arrivals rose to 1,314,130 bales reflecting a 47% jump.
Balochistan also contributed 75,100 bales, he added.
So far, 1,652,204 bales have been procured by textile mills while 325,780 bales remain in stock nationwide, according to Mahmood.
At present, 428 ginning factories are operational.
Mahmood cautioned that recent rains and floods might reduce production by 0.6 to 1 million bales.
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In southern Punjab, districts such as Jalalpur Pirwala, Alipur, and Lodhran suffered extensive damage while in Bahawalnagar’s tehsils of Fort Abbas Minchinabad, Chishtian and Haroonabad nearly 40% of the crop was affected. These losses directly impacted not only farmers but also the ginning and textile sectors, he explained.
According to Mahmood, national output is feared to remain limited to just 5 million bales, which would necessitate imports of over 6 million bales putting immense pressure on foreign exchange reserves and widening the trade deficit.
