Islamabad, August 22, 2022 (PPI-OT):Former President of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) Dr. Shahid Rasheed Butt on Sunday said cotton production is falling in all major cotton producing and exporting countries because of extreme weather. At least a twenty percent decrease in international cotton output is expected, which is a big threat to the textile industry of dozens of countries including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam and China, he said.
Shahid Rashid Butt said that the situation in various countries is continuously deteriorating due to extreme heat, lack of water, untimely rains and some other factors. India, the country that produces the most cotton in the world, has been forced to import cotton due to the fall in production, US, the world’s largest cotton exporter is to see a drop of 28 percent in cotton output while production in Brazil, the world’s second-largest cotton exporter, is expected to drop by 30 percent.
Heat waves in China are making the situation critical and rains in Australia and Pakistan are ruining the cotton crop, he added. Due to these conditions, the price of cotton in the international market has increased by 30 percent and a further increase is expected. The high price of cotton is increasing the cost of doing business, he said, adding that Pakistan should take steps to ensure the supply of cotton to textile mills to save its largest export sector.
Mr. Butt said that Pakistan is the fifth largest producer of cotton in the world, with an average production of 1,350 metric tonnes. The current cotton production in the country is just about half of what it was producing until a few years ago and is expected to decrease further in the next few years because of official inattention.
For more information, contact:
Dr. Shahid Rasheed Butt
Consul General Ghana
Former President ICCI
Former Patron ICST
Tel: +92-333-5132199, +92-51-2822571
The post Pakistan largest export sector under threat appeared first on Business News Pakistan.