Pakistan has replaced Bangladesh in becoming the largest buyer of cotton from India in the October-December 2015 quarter, against the backdrop of acute shortage of cotton in the country owing to widespread crop failure due to whiteflies.
The data compiled by the Ministry of Textile shows that Pakistan imported 1.66 bales (1 bale = 170 kg) of cotton from India, which amounts to 47 per cent of India’s total cotton exports. During the period last year, the total cotton exports of India amounted to 1.93 bales, out of which 0.38 bales were exported to Pakistan. This jump in cotton exports has encouraged the Indian Ministry of Textile to forecast its cotton exports, amounting to 7 bales for the full year 2015-16 against the previous year exports that stood at 5.77 bales.
In this regard, Textiles Commissioner Kavita Gupta said, “The prevailing trend in cotton exports is likely to continue for the rest of the year due to crop damage in Pakistan. India’s cotton exports to other countries are also likely to remain significantly up this year,” Dr Gupta further elucidated on the issue, saying that around one-third of sown cotton crop was badly damaged, forcing Pakistan to import cotton from India in order to meet the consumption demand.
Also Read – Pakistan’s cotton production hits rock bottom; imports triple
Regarding India’s cotton production, the Cotton Advisory Board, under the Ministry of Textiles, made a forecast of only 35.2 million bales, owing to major damage in crops in Gujarat, Karnataka and Punjab. The board suggests that the production would be the lowest in three years, owing to ball worm pest attack in Gujarat and crop damage due to whiteflies in Punjab.
Meanwhile, the global equation for cotton is also changing, owing to China’s slump in demand that stood at 24 per cent of India’s overall cotton exports in 2014-15. This year, it has been estimated to be 1.2 bales against 1.68 bales last year.
