Even though Pakistan has lifted the ban imposed on cotton imports from India, exporters of the commodity are unable to capitalise on the move. Of the initial three million export orders in the October to December period, 1.5 million bales were exported to Pakistan last year. However, with daily arrivals still under at present, exporters are unable to secure new orders.
Pakistan had banned cotton imports from India in the fourth week of November on quality issue but after the industry urged the government, they lifted the ban a few days ago. According to Indian cotton industry, Pakistan may import about 700,000-800,000 bales of cotton in 2016-17. Last year, India exported 2.5 million bales of cotton to Pakistan which was facing crop failure, then.
Post demonetisation, several mandis are not fully operational yet with arrivals dwindling due to cash crunch. Cotton arrivals are down by 25-30 per cent compared to last year despite a slight improvement in early December.
