Pakistan makes U-turn on cotton from India
09/04/2021
Following reports last week that Pakistan might allow some imports of cotton and sugar from India, the government has said this will not be the case.
Pakistan’s Economic Coordination Committee recommended that imports be resumed from June, but the idea was then rejected by the Cabinet.
Pakistan imposed bans on products from India in 2019, after New Delhi revoked the special status of its portion of the long-disputed Kashmir region claimed by both countries.
As India is the biggest producer of organic cotton, this led to some supply issues in Pakistan, which have since been exacerbated by the bans on cotton from China’s Xinjiang region.
Pakistan’s cotton 2020/21 imports are forecast at a record 5.3 million bales and are expected to exceed domestic production for the first time.
Significantly lower domestic supplies have driven imports to a second consecutive record, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
The 2019/20 harvest was the lowest in over 3 decades, and the 2020/21 crop is down 27%. This has led to much higher imports, mostly supplied by Brazil and the US.
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