To import 3.5 million US cotton bales, the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) has asked for a $2 billion soft loan.
APTMA requested in writing that Donald Bloome of the US Embassy takes up the matter of the US government sanctioning a loan.
The APTMA stated in a letter that “Pakistan domestic cotton production has plummeted to the historical low plummeting 5 million bales for the current year with predicted cotton production losses of more than $2 billion.”
Since Pakistan’s textile industry consumed nearly 15 million cotton bales in the previous year and the anticipated demand for the current season indicates that about 10 million bales will need to be imported, domestic cotton production is significantly short of what is needed to meet industry demands.
