LAHORE: Pakistan has become the largest buyer of US cotton for the first time in history.
A report by the US Department of Agriculture says that a total of 1.192 million bales (160 kg each) have been shipped to Pakistan, the highest in the world.
Vietnam is the second largest import of the American cotton. Turkiye third, Switzerland fourth, Mexico fifth, China sixth, and India is the seventh largest buyer of US cotton.
Reports say that Pakistan has signed contracts for 3.0m to 3.5m bales of cotton from the United States, Brazil and other countries, while more contracts are in the pipeline.
According to because of sales tax-free imports and lower-than-expected production of the local crop, whose quality has also been affected by adverse weather conditions.
Pakistani textile mills are expected to import up to 5.5m bales to meet their requirements this year because of sales tax-free import and lower-than-expected production of the local crop.
Vietnam has so far import 0.96m bales, Turkiye 0.67m bales, Switzerland 0.65m bales, Mexico 0.59m bales, and China imported 0.52m bales. The neighbouring India imported only 0.258m bales of US cotton.
