Under immense pressure from the textile industry, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan is being forced to reconsider the ban – imposed after the abrogation of Article 370 – on cotton imports from India. Amid the ban on imports from India, the textile manufacturers were forced to import cotton and yarn from the United States, Brazil, and Uzbekistan, which was not only costlier but of poorer quality.
This comes as a personal humiliation to Prime Minister Imran Khan who is in charge of the Ministry of Textile and Ministry of Commerce. Abdul Razak Dawood, the advisor to the Prime Minister of Commerce, said that he is considering opening up the imports as the production of cotton is expected to be one of the lowest this year.
The anticipated 24 per cent lower production has set the prices on fire, and, given the fact that the commodity prices are rising around the globe, it is only expected to rise if the Imran Khan government is not ready to face the humiliation and remove the ban on import of Indian cotton.
Since the imposition of the ban on Indian imports, the cotton prices in Pakistan have been on fire. “The cotton sowing season is currently starting in Pakistan and the predicted drop in cotton price owing to import of yarn from India is approximately 10-15%, discouraging farmers not to sow cotton,” said All Pakistani Textile Mill Owners’s Association.
Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) Chairman and Managing Director PK Agarwal told BusinessLine that Pakistan would have to withdraw its curbs on the import of Indian cotton. “Currently, Pakistan could be willing to buy any cotton but so far, no one has approached from that side,” he said.
Previously the country was forced to another humiliation in May last year when it opened up the pharmaceutical sector to ensure that the people do not face a medicine crunch amid the Coronavirus pandemic. Moreover, the country is also getting Indian vaccines through United Nations.
The way Imran Khan has destroyed Pakistan’s economy, he has no option but to run around the world with a begging bowl. In the last few years, the agricultural growth of Pakistan has been severely hit. Last financial year it grew at a mere 0.8 percent against 3.8 percent target, and this will severely hit the standard of living in the Islamic country as agriculture is the main source of income for the majority of the population.
The cotton production of the country decreased by 12.7 percent; rice production declined by 3.3 percent; and sugarcane, the main cash crop of the country declined by 19.4 percent. Pakistan is facing a serious water crisis and poor irrigation facilities have led to a major decline in sown area of many water-intensive crops.
In the last three seasons, the Pakistani farmers have not seen a single good crop, and Imran Khan, who presided over all three seasons- elected in August 2018-, has done nothing to soothe the farmers so far. Imran Khan now wants to normalize the relations with India becasue his countrymen would not be able to afford two meals a day and would die without medicines if he does not begs to the Modi government.