Cotton production moderates amid heatwave concerns

Cotton arrivals across Pakistan have slowed sharply mid-season, according to the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association, as Dawn reported. Total receipts reached 3.208 million bales by September 30, only 5.39 per cent above the same point last year. A month earlier, output had run 27pc ahead of the previous year, and a 10 to 15pc rise in the overall harvest had been anticipated.

Ihsanul Haq, chairman of the Cotton Ginners Forum, linked the shortfall to unusually high temperatures that made bolls burst open early. Although that first pointed to better yields per acre, output later dropped sharply. In the September 16 to 30 window, arrivals came to 820,000 bales, below the 1.1m bales that had been projected.

Sindh's tally reached 1.993m bales, up 4.48pc, after Punjab logged 1.214m bales, up 6.91pc on last year. Sajid Mahmood of the Central Cotton Research Institute cautioned that the output dip, together with pink bollworm and lint contamination complaints, could raise domestic raw cotton prices and deepen import dependence. Separately, the sector expects FBR digital invoicing enforcement to curb undocumented trade, which had accounted for 1.5 to 2m bales annually. The International Cotton Advisory Committee has trimmed its world output forecast for 2026-27 to 25.94 million tonnes, 3.8pc below 26.98mt in 2025-26.