[Industrial Cluster] Increase Of Cotton Planting Area In Pakistan

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According to the latest report of the American Agricultural Counsellor, due to the high income of competitive crops, the cotton planting area in Pakistan is expected to remain at 1.8 million hectares in 2023/24, which is consistent with this year. However, after the flood in 2022/23, the cotton yield per unit area is expected to return to normal. Therefore, the cotton yield in the next year is expected to reach 5.3 million bales, with a year-on-year growth of 36%. At present, Pakistan's cotton harvest in 2022/23 has been completed, and the cumulative amount of cotton received by ginning plants has decreased by 35% year-on-year, including 24% in Punjab Province and 47% in Sindh Province.

After a sharp decline in 2022/23, Pakistan's domestic cotton consumption and textile exports are expected to rebound in 2023/24. As the inventory of major textile importing countries declines, buyers will begin to place orders with Pakistan. It is expected that the textile production will speed up later this year. Pakistan's domestic consumption is expected to reach 9.3 million bags next year, up 3% year on year.

Nevertheless, Pakistan's cotton consumption and textile production are still not very bright due to the serious shortage of foreign exchange, difficulties in importing raw materials and machinery equipment, currency depreciation, rising energy prices, inflation, high tariffs and other factors. In addition, as Pakistan's cotton production is expected to exceed demand in the next year, the cotton import volume is expected to remain unchanged.