Pakistan : Cotton trade with India harvests positive economic relations

Textile mills in Pakistan have signed a contract for importing nearly 0.7 million bales of cotton from India. This step was taken as a measure to overcome cotton deficit in domestic production.
Pakistan textile industry needs to import nearly four million bales and so far it has contracted only 1.2 million bales including the quantity from India.
According to the estimates of officials from All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA), cotton supplies from US and other countries have already started coming in whereas the supplies from India are likely to reach by next month.
Pakistan Government has estimated the cotton production to cut down from 14 to 12.8 million bales because of attacks by mealy bug and virus on cotton crops. Moreover, it may even fall down further to 11.5 million bales since the damage caused is unexpectedly severe.
Trading of cotton between India and Pakistan has created possibilities to strengthen economic ties and healthy competition between the two countries.