{"id":126546,"date":"2026-05-25T21:00:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T16:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?p=126546"},"modified":"2026-05-25T21:00:35","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T16:00:35","slug":"pakistan-importing-cotton-from-us-brazil-even-before-local-ginning-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126546\/","title":{"rendered":"Pakistan importing cotton from US, Brazil even before local ginning season"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">LAHORE(National Times)-  In an unprecedented development in Pakistan\u2019s history, local textile mills have begun massive cotton imports from the United States even before the start of the new cotton ginning season, as the country has virtually run out of cotton stocks, triggering a sharp surge in domestic cotton and phutti prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Reports suggest that local textile mills have purchased an extraordinary 206,100 bales \u2013 around 95pc\u2013 of the total 216,000 bales of the US 2026-27 cotton crop sold during the past week. The millers are also importing cotton on a large scale from Brazil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During fiscal year 2026-27, the country may spend billions of dollars in foreign exchange on the import of cotton and edible oil, potentially the highest import bill in the country\u2019s history for these commodities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite repeated announcements regarding cotton revival, the approval of another sugar mill in Rahim Yar Khan, Pakistan\u2019s largest cotton-producing zone, is undermining efforts to restore cotton cultivation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Karachi Cotton Association (KCA), one of the two major institutions representing Pakistan\u2019s cotton sector globally, is&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1995388\">sealed&nbsp;<\/a>since Dec 12, 2025 due to an alleged ownership dispute, leaving the country without representation in international cotton markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another worrying development is the construction of a gymkhana club at the Central Cotton Research Institute (CCRI) lands, once renowned for developing the subcontinent\u2019s first virus-free cotton variety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cotton Ginners Forum Chairman Ihsanul Haq says the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) has proposed abolition of sales tax on cotton, cottonseed, cottonseed oil, oil cake and oil dirt in the upcoming federal budget. Meanwhile, the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) has sought the withdrawal of super tax and other levies, alongside reductions in energy tariffs and markup rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The textile industry also wants implementation of the cotton revival programme finalised under the leadership of Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar to increase cotton production and eliminate undocumented business practices in the cotton sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The new cotton year has started with record-high prices across the cotton value chain. Cotton prices have climbed to Rs23,000 per maund, phutti to Rs12,500 per 40kg, cottonseed to Rs5,200 per maund and oil cake to Rs4,800 per maund \u2013 all historic highs in Pakistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, market observers believe prices may begin easing after Eidul Azha holidays as a large number of ginning factories in Punjab and Sindh are expected to become operational.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The partial arrivals of imported cotton have resumed after prolonged disruption caused by the Gulf conflict. Reports of improving Iran-US relations and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1980405\">Chinese mediation<\/a>&nbsp;in easing Pakistan-Afghanistan tensions could reopen the Afghan border, potentially allowing around 300,000 cotton bales from Afghanistan into Pakistan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LAHORE(National Times)- In an unprecedented development in Pakistan\u2019s history, local textile mills have begun massive cotton imports from the United States even before the start of the new cotton ginning season, as the country has virtually run out of cotton stocks, triggering a sharp surge in domestic cotton and phutti prices. Reports suggest that local [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":126547,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-126546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","entry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Pakistan importing cotton from US, Brazil even before local ginning season - Nation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126546\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pakistan importing cotton from US, Brazil even before local ginning season - Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"LAHORE(National Times)- In an unprecedented development in Pakistan\u2019s history, local textile mills have begun massive cotton imports from the United States even before the start of the new cotton ginning season, as the country has virtually run out of cotton stocks, triggering a sharp surge in domestic cotton and phutti prices. Reports suggest that local [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126546\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-25T16:00:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-25T16:00:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Untitled-design-19-23.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"670\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"370\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"humza Jahangir\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"humza Jahangir\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126546\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126546\/\",\"name\":\"Pakistan importing cotton from US, Brazil even before local ginning season - Nation\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126546\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126546\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Untitled-design-19-23.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-25T16:00:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-25T16:00:35+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/27efa35fa76e99f3ad7e7397d7332c16\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126546\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126546\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126546\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Untitled-design-19-23.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Untitled-design-19-23.png\",\"width\":670,\"height\":370},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126546\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Pakistan importing cotton from US, Brazil even before local ginning season\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/\",\"name\":\"Nation\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/27efa35fa76e99f3ad7e7397d7332c16\",\"name\":\"humza Jahangir\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/43feedd99bd6a90080d1621b7e6604364acb673ee979d3ffe5075557c14c68b9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/43feedd99bd6a90080d1621b7e6604364acb673ee979d3ffe5075557c14c68b9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"humza Jahangir\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/author\/humza\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Pakistan importing cotton from US, Brazil even before local ginning season - Nation","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126546\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Pakistan importing cotton from US, Brazil even before local ginning season - Nation","og_description":"LAHORE(National Times)- In an unprecedented development in Pakistan\u2019s history, local textile mills have begun massive cotton imports from the United States even before the start of the new cotton ginning season, as the country has virtually run out of cotton stocks, triggering a sharp surge in domestic cotton and phutti prices. 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