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Problems Faced by Cotton Ginning Industries

In Pakistan
(A case study)

Since ages cotton has been used to

manufacture cloth. It is big business and
has coursed the economies and

© 2011 Sahaab Akbar

development of many nations through
history. Pakistan has always been a region
that is rich in cotton and its products.
According to PCGA (Pakistan Cotton
Ginners’ Association) Pakistani cotton is
one of the world’s best products when in
the field; but one of the worst when it is sold to textile industry for cloth production. The
reason why this has happened is the continuous decay of the cotton ginning industry which has
left the once booming industry into mere remnants of the past.

Before modern techniques for producing ginned cotton, or as they call it in the trade – “cotton
lint” were introduced, handlooms were used at a wide scale in
the region that is now known as Pakistan and India. Although
improved lint producing gins were introduced in the industry
back since the 1750’s but the real revolutionary technologies
came up in the 1940’s with a new and advanced version of
McCarthy Roller Gin and the all new Rotobar (Knife Rotary Gin)
along with the Saw Gin.

According to SMEDA, USA, Pakistan, India and China are one of the major producers of cotton in
the world. They however, are all big consumers of cotton as well. China and India along with
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Pakistan have now started to import Cotton on the basis of

high demand by their textile industry.
Cotton is so widely used that is still accounts for
56 percent of the world’s fiber market share. To
cope up, such a fine fiber is to be produced that
can be easily differentiated from the rest. Here
lies the plight of Pakistan’s Cotton Ginning
Industry.

© 2011 Sahaab Akbar

One of the biggest problems faced by the industry is that
although it incorporates “Saw Gin” technology, but the machine versions used are of 1960’s
and 1980’s mainly. They are either imported when developed countries scrap them, or they are
created as copies from original designs – both locally and in China. These machines are not only
more energy consuming and hence less efficient but are also more prone to breakdowns and
need constant expensive repair. Over 1,221 ginning units are installed with a capacity of more
than one million bales on a single shift basis
and a total capacity of around 20 million
bales on three shift basis but much of it goes
to waste due to lack of cotton production by
farms and expensive rates of imported low
grade cotton in the market.

Adding misery to the situation is the seasonal

functioning of the cotton ginning industry.
The cotton industries do not practice good
storage practices all over the country. The
lack of warehousing leads to dust, cigarette
filters and oily moisture being trapped in the cotton fiber. This causes motes, neps and ill color
of the lint produced which is then priced very low. Pakistan needs to improve its cotton picking
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techniques as well since all its competitor countries in this field are using machines and
Pakistan is still relying on the cost and labor intensive hand picking.

Apart from this, the middle man earns a lot in the whole lint production and marketing process.
There are some 12.683 million cotton bales according to Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association
(PCGA) released consolidated statement of cotton arrivals, as on 15th March 2010 – an increase
of 12.20 percent over the same period last year. But even
all this is not properly sold to the textile mills.

© 2011 Sahaab Akbar

Brokers demand high rates of commission and so
hinder the sales of lint at premium prices.
Ginning factories had pressed 12.678171 million
bales till 15th March 2010, out of which textile
mills had purchased 11.565149 million bales
and exporters had picked up 0.795648 million
bales Trading Corporation of Pakistan that had
purchased 0.180333 million bales during 2008‐
2009 season remained a spectator and did not enter cotton market this year. Not to mention
is the increase in unrecorded and smuggled products due the overall rise of corruption in the
country. In truth the corruption matter is so big that Pakistan is ranked as the 34 th most corrupt
nation in the world with a CPI score of 2.3.

Financial institutions also harbor a general

mistrust for the industrialists in ginning cadre.
Although State Bank of Pakistan formulates and
promotes policies to provide for financial aid to
the industry each year, the number of defaulters
and sick industries increases years after year. No
liaison is present among the ginners and lending
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institutes and many industrialists are left without proper finance to even purchase raw
materials.

The inability of the country’s power grid and production facilities has left the ginning process
very expensive and load shedding policies constantly hinder smooth production, alongwith
increasing wastes since the ginning machines have to be sanitized before restarting the process
after a break.

© 2011 Sahaab Akbar

Moreover, the lack of reforms for laborers
combined with too much involvement of banking
sector and defaulters’ outstanding interests
results in a general dislike for the industry as they
are not deemed ethical and religious by many
industrialists.

Since the advent of the country there has been no

institutionalization (SMEDA) for the cotton ginning industry.
No specialists are funded by the Government to enhance and
reinforce the cotton ginning process. The PCGA is just a
monitoring body that has started no effective work up till now that can claim an improvement
in the ginning process and has only shown statistical analysis and presented its suggestions.

To go one step further, India has taken the lead. It has mainly deployed the low capacity roller
gins in its ginning sector. But it has both new technology and skilled, institutionalized workers
who produce, manage and market the lint. They have enhanced their ginning capacity overall
so as they now are a major importer of cotton to produce lint and bails. These factors have lead
to India beating the United States in becoming the second largest ginning country after China
worldwide. Pakistan however has its own
constraints and is as of yet on the 4th place.
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Now however trends are changing. With a demand for amendment in the Cotton Control Act
1966 people hope for a bright future in the ginning industry.

© 2011 Sahaab Akbar