Cotton Production in Pakistan Plummets to 4.5 Lakh Bales, Textile Industry in Crisis

Islamabad: Pakistan’s annual cotton production has drastically fallen from 1.5 million bales to just 450,000 bales. This continuous decline in cotton production is causing severe difficulties not only for farmers but also for the textile industry.

Agricultural expert Shehzad Ali Malik believes that the use of high-quality hybrid seeds is essential for revolutionizing the production of crops like wheat, second only to rice in Pakistan. He also mentioned that the country has devised a plan to achieve cotton self-sufficiency, with the first phase focusing on cultivating BT Cotton 2085 on 700 acres in Punjab and Sindh.

Agricultural experts have pointed out that due to the cotton shortage, Pakistan is spending around 3 billion dollars annually on cotton imports, depleting valuable foreign exchange, which needs to be saved urgently.