The third meeting of Cotton Crop Assessment Committee (CCAC) kept its estimate for the cotton crop season 2014-15 unchanged from the previous meeting at 13.488 million bales.
At the meeting, chaired by Amir Marwat, secretary, Ministry of Textile Industry, representatives from Crop Reporting Departments of Punjab and Sindh provinces said they see the cotton crop size for the current season to remain same as was estimated during the second CCAC meeting.
The meeting agreed to maintain its cotton crop size for 2014-15 to be same as was assessed in its previous meeting. Punjab province is forecast to produce 9.902 million bales, followed by Sindh with 3.480 million bales, Balochistan with 107,000 bales, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) with 1,500 bales.
Cotton Commissioner Khalid Abdullah apprised the meeting about cotton crop condition and status of cotton arrival position in ginning factories. He stated that natural climatic condition and seed quality issues are the major obstacles in achieving cotton production targets. Abdullah informed that due to construction of Gomal Zam dam in KP, around 200,000 acres of land is expected to be brought under cotton crop cultivation. He added that the Ministry of Textile Industry is putting all efforts to bring most of this area under cotton cultivation, as cotton is low water consuming crop.
Amir Marwat urged stakeholders to put extra efforts in increasing cotton acreage, as cotton is a high value crop and single largest export revenue earner for Pakistan. He further stressed on inter-sectoral coordination and said that efficiently working as a team will help in achieving targets.
He assured that the Ministry would facilitate cotton trade business and make efforts in enhancing cotton production in the country. He also directed to engage cotton experts of Pakistan Central Cotton Committee (PCCC) in cotton promotional / extension campaigns being launched by the KP government in the province.
The representative from Karachi Cotton Association stressed upon development of long and extra long staple cotton varieties in order to get premium prices while trading cotton internationally.
In 2013-14 cotton season, Pakistan’s cotton output increased by 3.69 per cent to 13.391 million bales, compared to the previous season’s production of 12.915 million bales, according to Pakistan Cotton Ginners’ Association. (RKS)
