Pakistan’s cotton arrivals reach 8.397m bales as of March 31

Cotton arrivals in Pakistan reached 8.397 million bales as of March 31, 2024, as per the latest data released by the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA).

Compared to the previous data released by PCGA for arrivals as of February, which totaled 8.393 million bales, cotton arrivals have increased by a marginal 0.04%.

However, on a year-on-year basis, arrivals have surged by 70.94% YoY compared to the 4.91m arrivals recorded in the Same Period Last Year (SPLY).

According to the breakup of the data, cotton arrivals from Sindh province stood at 4.115m bales, significantly up 2.19x on a YoY basis.

Meanwhile, cotton arrivals from Punjab province, another key cotton-producing region, increased by 41.17% YoY to 4.282m bales.

Compared to the previous month's data, arrivals through both Sindh and Punjab have remained relatively unchanged.

"Textile mills are going through a difficult phase, including closures, primarily due to the record-high electricity tariffs," Ahsanullhaq, chairman of the Cotton Ginners forum stated last month.

Pakistan is among the top ten cotton-producing countries in the world, and cotton and textile products are among the country’s major exports. However, output still stands below expectations.