Cotton industry could be termed as the backbone of
Pakistan’s economy. It is not only the largest industry in the country but also
the greatest source of foreign exchange earning in Pakistan. it provides
employment to 38% of overall labor force of the country and accounts for 27% of
value addition in the manufacturing sector.
The industry comprises yarn and cloth fabrics, and
the ancillaries including hosiery, knitwear, towels, and ready-made garments.
It uses high-speed spindles, automatic cone winder, electronic splicers and
modern power looms, ensuring high quality products.
Cotton textile industry of Pakistan made phenomenal
progress in 1948 there were 78,000 spindles and only 3,000 looms which produced
6.3 million kg of yarn and 29.6 million kg meters of cloth. The mills consumed
about 7% of the cotton produced in the country.
For better economic use of raw cotton, plans were
made to develop the cotton textile industry in Pakistan. By 1955, the
production of yarn reached up to 114 million kg and that of cloth 326 million
kg meters, while installed capacity of spindles increased to 1.4 million and
23,000 looms. In 1980-81, number of textile mills reached 158, and installed
capacity of spindles and looms was simultaneously 3,983 thousands and 25,000.
The consumption of cotton was 444.6 thousand tones while 374.9 thousand tonnes
yam and 307.9 million square meters cloth was produced during the same period.
The textile sector critically depends on the supply
of raw material from agriculture sector and demand of export and, therefore,
whatever happens to cotton crop and exports demand is likely to affect the
performance of textile sector. During 2008-09, there were 521 textile mills in
the country with installed capacity of 10.1 million spindles, 114 thousand
rotors and 10,000 looms. Out of total textile units 50 are composite and 471
are spinning units.
The profile of various components of the cotton
textile industry is given below ;