The cotton target for the current year is likely to be missed as cotton sowing in five districts of Sindh province was delayed due to water shortage which is expected to negatively effect production. Cotton sowing normally starts in the first week of April in upper Sindh which produces around 1.5-2 million bales every year. Due to water shortage last month, Indus River System Authority (Irsa) observed complete closure of water releases to Sindh however after one week water was released though it took another 8 to ten days to reach Sindh.
However Senior Vice President Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) told Business Recorder that districts including Gothki, Sukkur, Hairpure, Nawab Shah and Nowshehra Feroz have yet to receive water and cotton sowing has been delayed for over one month time.
The Federal Committee on Cotton (FCC) has fixed the cotton area and production target for the year 2017-18 according to which Punjab will sow cotton on 6 million acres to produce 10 million cotton bales, Sindh 1.606 million acres to produce 4 million cotton bales, Balochistan 0.093 million acres to produce 0.038 million bales and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has to sow cotton on 0.00247 million acres to produce 0.002 million bales of cotton.
Irsa has forecast that provinces would face around 18 percent water shortage for crops during the Kharif season. About 110 Million Acre Feet (MAF) water would be available for Kharif season with 67 MAF water to be utilised for Kharif crops. Officials said that due to water shortage, the prospects of a bumper cotton crop production are not very bright.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2017