Pakistan Cotton Arrivals Dip 1.23% as Sindh Overtakes Punjab

Pakistan’s national cotton arrivals have reached 5.3 million bales so far this season, showing a slight decline of 1.23 percent compared to the same period last year, according to the latest data released by the Pakistan Cotton Ginners’ Association. The data shows a clear shift in cotton production, with Sindh emerging as the leading contributor this season while Punjab continues to lose ground in what was once its core crop. As of December 15, Sindh delivered 2.85 million bales to ginning factories, up from 2.77 million bales last year. Sanghar remained the top producing district, contributing around 1.25 million bales. Strong growth was recorded in several Sindh districts. Nawabshah posted a sharp increase of 56.16 percent, with arrivals reaching 0.081 million bales compared to 0.052 million bales last year. Mirpur Khas also showed healthy growth of 24.51 percent. Punjab, however, recorded a notable decline. Cotton arrivals in the province fell to 2.45 million bales, down 5.42 percent from 2.59 million bales last year. The steepest fall was reported in Lodhran, where arrivals dropped by 74.59 percent. Other traditional cotton-producing areas also reported lower output. Bahawalpur delivered 0.39 million bales, down 9.74 percent, while Multan recorded 0.04 million bales, a decline of 27.81 percent. Some areas in south Punjab showed improvement. Dera Ghazi Khan recorded a 34.42 percent increase to 0.31 million bales, while Rajanpur more than doubled its arrivals to 0.03 million bales, showing an increase of 108.74 percent. Rahim Yar Khan, once among the leading cotton-producing districts, remained the largest centre for unsold cotton this season, with stocks standing at 0.18 million bales. The PCGA report also highlighted active trading in the domestic textile sector. Out of total arrivals, 4.67 million bales have already been sold, with 4.49 million bales taken up by textile mills. Unsold stocks currently stand at 0.64 million bales, slightly higher than the 0.61 million bales recorded during the same period last year. The fortnightly flow of cotton to ginning factories has slowed marginally to 0.17 million bales, compared to 0.18 million bales in the corresponding period last year. At present, 309 ginning factories are operational across the country, including 163 in Punjab and 146 in Sindh. Industry players are closely watching whether Sindh’s late-season momentum can compensate for Punjab’s continued decline.