The Cotton Crop Assessment Committee (CCAC) has estimated the local crop output at 9.451 million bales as against the set production targets of 12 million bales during the season.
Cotton Commissioner Dr Khalid Abdullah told media that Minister for National food Security and Research Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtyar chaired the meeting for assessing the volume of current cotton crop in the country.
The representatives of provincial government of Punjab, Plant Protection Department, Trading Corporation of Pakistan , Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department , Pakistan Central Cotton Committee and All Pakistan Textile Mills Association were attended the meeting.
Dr Abdullah presented the overview of cotton production scenario in the country. He informed the meeting that cotton output in Punjab province was expected to reach 6.
671 million bales and in Sindh it was assessed at 2.68 million bales.
The crop output of Balochistan was estimated at 0.098 million bales, he said adding the crop faced extraordinary temperature rise during the critical stages of crop development followed by an unexpected rise in temperature by 2 to 5 during September as compared with the same month of previous few years.
Such harsh temperature affected the plant nutrition development capability and put the plant under stress, hampering the late season fruit development.
He further said irrigation water shortage in Sindh, especially during critical stages of crop development, severe attack of Pink Bollworm both in Punjab and Sindh, white fly attack, lower seed cotton prices with rising input costs remained the key elements affecting cotton production.