Pakistan: cotton production up 13%
Cotton production in Pakistan has recorded a significant increase of 13% to more than 4.715 million bales till October 15, 2011 despite damage to crop in Sindh, over last year’s 4.173 million bales, according to a consolidated statement from the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA).
Punjab produced 3.4 million bales, up by 19.1% over the same period of the last year while Sindh crop was lower by 33.2% to 1.4 million bales over last year’s 2 million.
Chairman of the Karachi Cotton Brokers Forum, Naseem Usman, said that devastating floods have badly damaged cotton crop and about 2.2 million bales have been destroyed.
However, he said that rise in cotton production in Punjab will make up the shortage from Sindh and country is likely to have a total production of more than 13 million bales in 2011.
