With heavy-rainfall and floods hitting the domestic cotton crop, Pakistan has turned its attention to India to fulfil the domestic demand. It is buying more cotton than expected from the country, which has boosted cotton exports from India that has been dealing with the issue of rising cotton stockpiles.

After China rolled back its cotton stockpiling policy and began releasing stocked cotton for its own consumption, India’s cotton exports were hit hard and farmers have been struggling to get rid of the piling inventories. However, recently rising demand from Pakistan has helped in boosting cotton prices in India to above a state-fixed support price in most regions, which has also reduced the pressure on the government.

Earlier China was a major importer with almost 50 per cent of cotton exports from India to the country, however now Pakistan has emerged as the lead importer with half of the two million bales exported this marketing year that started on October 1, 2015 going to the country.

Industry experts expect the total cotton imports by Pakistan to rise more than triple this marketing year. Pakistan's overall cotton imports are increasing to at least four million bales in the year that started on August 1, 2015, from 1.2 million bales a year ago.