KARACHI: Pakistan’s vital textile industry is facing a severe crisis as a massive import deal for 500,000 cotton bales from Afghanistan is in jeopardy following the failure of negotiations with the Afghan Taliban. The situation is so dire that Pakistani textile mills have begun cancelling these contracts.
This comes at the worst possible time, as Pakistan’s domestic cotton crop has been heavily damaged by recent rains and floods. Furthermore, reports of some cotton ginners mixing waste into the cotton have compromised the quality of the local supply.
Ehsan-ul-Haq, Chairman of the Cotton Ginners Forum, stated that textile mills are now scrambling to secure new import deals from other countries to meet their export deadlines. In the last six to eight weeks alone, new contracts for approximately 2 million bales have already been signed.
With 50,000 bales already stuck at the closed Pak-Afghan border, mills will now be forced to find alternatives for the 500,000 cancelled Afghan bales, likely turning to more expensive markets like the United States and Brazil.
