Pakistan has missed its cotton sowing target by about 10 per cent. Due to unprecedented rains during the early cotton sowing season, and low cotton price, wheat harvest was prolonged, so there was a significant decline in cotton sowing. The recent heat wave led to shedding of cotton flowers while the standing water may kill cotton plants.

The government has set the cotton target for the 2015-16 season at 15.49 million bales. Punjab was projected to produce 10.5 million bales from six million acres. However it missed the sowing target and the area under cultivation registered a decline of about six per cent. Sindh was projected to produce 4.4 million bales from 1.6 million acres. However only 1.4 million acres were cultivated and therefore the target was missed by 10 per cent. Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa also missed their sowing targets. The cotton sowing target for the current season has been set one per cent higher than last year.

Punjab province which produces about 70 per cent of the total cotton has been hit hard and sowing remained well below target. Due to lower cotton prices, growers were hard hit last year and could not even cover costs. This discouraged farmers who grew less cotton this year.