The devastating floods in Pakistan could be the start of a new cotton crisis. An estimated 40 to 45 percent of the country’s cotton crop was devastated by the storms, reports the news platform Reuters. This will have catastrophic effects on the global cotton cycle and drive up prices.
Pakistan is one of the world’s largest cotton producers, fifth largest after China, India, the US and Brazil, and contributes 6 percent of the world’s cotton supply. With almost two-thirds of Pakistan under water, the consequences for the people and the destruction of their homes and livelihoods are catastrophic.
Heavy rains this season have also hit the Indian cotton crop, while the drought has hit US cotton mills. All of this leads to a reduction in global production, which has a negative impact on exportable quantities. The US ban on China’s Xinjiang cotton means importing companies will have to prove their products are free from cotton from that region as reliance on Chinese cotton becomes increasingly critical.
“Irreparable loss for the sector”
The Pakistan Tribune wrote last week of an irrecoverable loss for the sector and that current cotton prices are the highest in Pakistan’s history.
“Cotton consumption will also be impacted by the decline in textile activities, and large volumes will have to be imported from abroad,” the newsletter reported located to encourage increased production.”
In Pakistan, more than two-thirds of the population depend on agriculture, which accounts for almost 20 percent of the country’s GDP. Cotton production has halved in the last decade, with experts citing global warming and climate change as one of the reasons. Pakistan is also an important manufacturing region for garment manufacturing. If the country has to import cotton to make clothes, production prices will rise, disrupting the entire supply chain and ultimately impacting high-street consumers worldwide.
This translated and edited post previously appeared on FashionUnited.uk.