Industrial Cluster: Enterprises Appreciate The Solutions And Mechanisms Of The Pakistani Government

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According to foreign news on April 3, the Punjab Provincial Government of Pakistan plans to use 1 million acres of land for early cotton planting.

Textile exporters and agricultural experts appreciated the government's decision, and they believed that permanent solutions and mechanisms were needed to avoid future production reductions.

Iftikhar Ali Sahoo, Secretary General of Agriculture, said that the strategy to achieve this goal by April 15 had been determined. To achieve this goal, close door committees will be set up in district, local and provincial units.

Dr. Aamir of Faisalabad Agricultural University said that cotton is the economic pillar of Pakistan, and the textile industry is the main consumer of cotton. By focusing on cotton production, the country can save millions of rupees in the cost of importing cotton. Everyone knows that cotton is crucial to Pakistan's economic development, and a strong mechanism must be established to increase cotton production. In the 2011/12 fiscal year, Pakistan's cotton output reached 15 million bales, but since then it has dropped to 6-7 million bales per year. "

Ahmed, a textile exporter, said that the Punjab provincial government plans to increase the production of cotton crops, which is commendable. This initiative was made at a critical moment when Pakistan was trying to obtain foreign exchange by exporting textiles. Cotton is a "white gold" and an important part of Pakistan's textile industry. The decline in cotton production has created too many problems for exporters. They had to find other ways to fulfil their export commitments. This reduction actually benefits India, which is Pakistan's commercial rival. In order to loot, opportunists began to enter the cotton trade and began to import cotton from India through different channels.

Dr. Amir said that when the decline in cotton production attracted the attention of the Punjab Provincial Government, a committee was also set up in 2019 to find out the factors that led to the decline in cotton production and propose measures to avoid such a situation in the future. The Committee has been working hard and making recommendations to the relevant departments. However, it is not clear whether the Commission's recommendations will be used to increase production.

According to the report of Pakistan Economic Survey 2022/23, cotton was seriously damaged due to changes in climate conditions. In 2022/23, the cotton planting area will increase from 1937 hectares in the previous year to 2144 hectares, an increase of 10.7%. However, the floods in Sindh and Balochistan swept over the whole crop, resulting in a decrease in output of 4.91 million bales, 41% less than the previous year's 8.329 million bales.

Ahmed, a textile exporter, said that growers were also fighting against different insects, such as whitefly, thrips and pink cotton bollworm. Because of these insects, farmers face a decline in production every year. Rajanpur, DGKhan and Taunsa are the main cotton producing areas, but cotton farmers need to provide cotton seeds that adapt to climate change to increase their yield. As an exporter, I know that the high-quality cotton varieties produced in Pakistan can attract customers all over the world. However, our textile industry and agriculture are trying to solve the problems of high cost and unstable power and natural gas supply. Faisalabad and Sahiwal areas will be the main target areas. After potato and corn are harvested, the land can be used for early cotton planting.