Adulterated lint cotton was being produced by ginners, as exposed by PCGA, by using cotton waste to make bales of lint. The very bales were then supplied to spinning and textile mills to the detriment of the entire cotton sector that has been struggling to regain lost ground in the country for the last several years. Adulteration of ginned cheap cotton waste with seed cotton affects the quality of yarn and the strength of the ensuing products.
These surprise visits were reported in Mirpurkhas and Sanghar districts — rich cotton producing regions — in the last few months with the recent one took place in the second week of October.
The number of such ginning units, according to former PCGA chairman Mahesh Kumar, had been increasing, and they were becoming a threat to those who believe in fair trade practices, thus putting the entire industry’s credibility at stake.
Besides supplies to spinning and textile industry, adulterated cotton has made its way to exports thus jeopardising the integrity of the entire sector
In the case of Sanghar district’s Tando Adam city, according to newly elected PCGA chairman Sham Lal Manglani, the PCGA team faced an unpleasant situation and are now facing criminal proceedings after seeking protective bail from Sindh High Court on Oct 24 in the case, lodged following their action against ginners in Tando Adam. Concrete action, like the cancellation of licenses or sealing of factories in question, are yet to be seen.
The PCGA team’s probe revealed that cotton ginners — with their factory premises actually owned by some political family and leased out to them, reportedly — were preparing bales by filling the outer layer with quality lint and mixing inner cores with adulterated lint or cotton waste.
“We had held an annual general meeting (AGM) in 2024 in Karachi in view of those complaints, where the AGM mandated the PCGA to carry out surprise visits randomly to any ginning unit. A 25-member committee started paying visits accordingly to expose malpractices by unscrupulous elements in the ginning industry,” Mr Manglani informed.
Besides supplies to spinning and textile industry, such adulterated cotton was used for exports thus jeopardising the entire cotton sector and earning it a bad name on the international front; it became obvious the supply chain mechanism remainsnon-transparent.
Ginners can buy cotton waste for an average price of Rs4,500–5,000 per 40kg and mix it with cotton procured from growers at an average rate of Rs6,500–7,000 per 40kg to produce lint cotton
Cotton producers have been crying hoarse for a long time, not only about deductions in the procurement of phutti (seed cotton) by ginners for different reasons, but also about issues in the entire supply chain of cotton and other crops.
Ginners involved in this conduct to make an extra buck use cotton’s waste after buying it from spinners for Rs55-Rs80 per kg directly or through middlemen. This waste, known as blow dropping, card dropping and card fly, is used to produce lint cotton bale. Adulterated cotton is sold for three–five per cent lower than the market price or on credit by ginners.
With farmers, ginners make deductions on grounds of contamination and moisture in the phutti crop. It has become a routine controversy every cotton season. Textile and spinning units have been blaming ginners for supplying adulterated cotton, thus forcing them to avoid buying domestic cotton.
“A ginning factory owner can buy cotton waste [used for making quilts and low-grade yarn] for an average price of Rs4,500–5,000 per 40kg and then mix it with cotton procured from growers at an average rate of Rs6,500–7,000 per 40kg and save virgin cotton to produce lint cotton, which is currently sold for Rs20,000 per 40kg. The same lint is supplied to the textile and spinning industry. It saves a ginner’s production cost and maximises his profit,” noted a veteran spinning unit owner, Mian Tauqir Tariq.
According to him, this trend has been noticeable in the last four to five years in Sindh, leading to an outcry by the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) and its complaints to the PCGA.
Naturally, due to such malpractices by few in the cotton sector, the spinning and textile industry prefers cotton imported from the US, Argentina, Uzbekistan etc instead of homegrown goods.
Such quality of cotton produced by any ginning unit doesn’t meet standards for lint, observed a seasoned cotton producer from Matiari, Nadeem Shah, a member of Pakistan Cotton Standard Institute (PCSI) from Sindh, because it lacks staple length and vigour. “Farmers’ complaints, however, about deduction in seed cotton remained unaddressed and the sector’s struggle to survive continues,” he said.
Cotton growers are not unmindful of supply chain issues in the agriculture sector, according to Syed Mahmood Nawaz Shah, President of the Abadgar Board (SAB). Cotton ginners, he said, must blacklist those found to be involved in such activities.
“And why should we not talk about payment of premium prices for growers who supply quality cotton?” he further noted.
By Oct 15, 3.8m bales were confirmed by the PCGA, with Sindh producing 2.3m and Punjab 1.5m bales as per the PCGA. Sindh was still faring better than Punjab in terms of cotton production, although it has yet to achieve impressive figures like 4.2m bales of 2009-10. Now it looks difficult, if not impossible.