PAKISTAN: 14.11 million Cotton bales Target for Fiscal Year 2009 Unlikely to be Met
Non-availability of water for cotton especially in Punjab, risk of the furious attacks of mealy bug and cotton leaf curl virus (CLCV) and the shortage of pesticides in the domestic market have discouraged the farmers and the country may miss the production target of 14.11 million bales of cotton set for the next…
Egytex News Desk
Egytex
If the situation remains the same regarding non-availability of water and the absence of any resistible variety of cotton against mealy bug and CLCV, the production may be reduced by 10-15 percent. The private sector is involved in smuggling of substandard Bt cotton seeds from India and most of the farmers in Southern Punjab are making use of about 35-50 percent seeds and ultimately the production decreased. Due to increase in prices of sunflower oil in international market, the cotton growers are thinking to switchover from cotton cultivation to sunflower cultivation.
For the next fiscal year, the total consumption of cotton across the country is estimated to be 15.1 million bales. So, it is really indicative of the fact that the country will have to import around 1 million bales for 2008-09.
Source: Business Recorder
From the Egytex news archive, first published on 9 June 2008. Figures and names are as reported at the time.
