Breeding Cotton for International Trade

Cotton is the richest source of plant fiber in terms of production and diversity of its uses. Cotton shares the fiber demand of the textile industry, dietary needs of the edible-oil industry, feed requirement of the livestock sector, and fuel needs of rural kitchens. It plays a pivotal role in the economies of many countries either by growing, processing, or growing and processing of it. Cotton is considered a single crop sustaining Pakistan’s economy because it provides ample employment opportunities to the rural workforce and feeds over 450 textile industries across the country and shares over 58% in the foreign exchange earnings through exports of value-added textile goods. Pakistan always aims at value addition and raw cotton is exported only to balance the market forces. However, there is a tremendous opportunity to align the R&D activities to enter into value-added global demand of cotton, like organic, colored, certified (Fairtrade, BCI, etc.), and extra-long staple cotton (Reinhart, 2021). Conventional cotton production with no public support and low yields has become very difficult to compete with highly subsidized and technologically hoisted cotton productions of many developed countries. The use of value-added cotton has a niche market, but with the rise of public awareness about the environment and health consciousness, its demand is increasing. Pakistan has a considerable share of BCI-certified cotton in the global market and is progressing to enter into the organic and natural color cotton market. Cotton is the richest source of plant fiber in terms of production and diversity of its uses. Cotton shares the fiber demand of the textile industry, dietary needs of the edible-oil industry, feed requirement of the livestock sector, and fuel needs of rural kitchens. The use of value-added cotton has a niche market, but with the rise of public awareness about the environment and health consciousness, its demand is increasing. Pakistan has a considerable share of BCI-certified cotton in the global market and is progressing to enter into the organic and natural color cotton market. The spinning industry pays a higher price for cotton fiber, i.e., longer, finer, and lint that is white, bright, and fully mature. The fiber characteristics of cotton vary due to the type of variety, environmental condition, handling during picking, and ginning operations. Cotton has four cultivated species globally used for fiber production.