Despite obstacles, phutti arrivals hit 1.1m bales

Dawn reported that ginning factories across the country took in 1.114 million bales of phutti, or seed cotton, up to August 15, a 25 per cent jump this season even as poor weather and a stoppage by freight and fuel haulers strained supply lines. Most of the growth came from Sindh, where arrivals climbed 42pc to 734,000 bales, while Punjab added 3pc to reach 379,000 bales. The data come from the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association's fortnightly report released on Tuesday.

Cotton Ginners Forum chairman Ihsanul Haq flagged an unexplained difference with the Punjab government's Crop Reporting Services, which put provincial output at 585,000 bales as of August 13, nearly 35pc above the PCGA tally. Movement of 60,000 to 70,000 bales from Sindh into Punjab, driven by better prices there, further blurs the picture on local output.

Heavy sales taxes on ginning units are pushing trade off the books, with industry representatives estimating nearly 100,000 bales already sold through undocumented channels. Stakeholders warn that such trading could reach 1.5 to 2 million bales this season if tax rates remain unchanged. Industry experts link the rapid spread of sugar mills in core cotton zones to farmers shifting toward sugarcane. The shift carries heavy macroeconomic costs, as the country spends between $6 and $7 billion annually on imports of raw cotton and edible oil.