Indo-Pak tensions hit Pakistan’s cotton trade

TIL Desk/Business/Islamabad-Pakistani textile sector has been hit badly by the rise in Indo-Pak tensions with most traders not buying cotton from India “as a gesture of national solidarity”, impacting the USD 822 million cotton industry. The traders across the border, being uncertain of future developments, are not entering into new deals.

Pakistan’s Cotton Commissioner Khalid Abdullah said a low quantum of trade activity is still in place. The government has not asked importers to stop buying cotton from India but many of them are not buying on their own as a “gesture of national solidarity”.

Pakistani spinners are the biggest buyers of Indian fibre. Fewer imports by Pakistan this year could hurt Indian exports, raise their prices and help rival cotton exporters like Brazil, the US and some African countries. For Pakistan’s industry, buying the raw material from other sources may prove costly owing to long distance freight. Cotton trade between the two countries is worth USD 822 million a year.