Cotton is called "White Gold" because of its value and utility in human life. Pakistan is the world's fifth largest producer of cotton, and the cotton crop is indispensable to Pakistan's economy.
Exports of cotton and textile products account for about 60 percent of the country's total exports. It contributes about 0.6pc to the GDP and 2.4pc to the value added segment of agriculture.
Cotton was grown in 15 percent of Pakistan's total cultivated area, which has been reduced to 10 percent. About 62% of Pakistan's cotton is produced in Punjab, and the remainder is grown in Sindh, with negligible area under cotton in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
Since the planting of the cotton crop, the highest area under cotton crop was 3.19 million hectares during 2004-05, an all-time high of 14.26m bales as compared to 2.06m hectares and 4.91m bales in 2022-23 was production. This means a 36 per cent area reduction and 66 per cent decline from its peak production. Furthermore, it has been 41% less productive than the previous year.
