The story of textiles is inextricably interwoven with the story of cotton, and in Pakistan that is a tale that far pre-dates recorded history.

Considerable surviving evidence indicates that cotton was the staple crop grown by the inhabitants of the 5000-year-old Indus Valley Civilization, which is best known today through the excavated archaeological sites of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa. Its citizens used cotton for barter and trade, and exported it to other parts of the ancient world, such as Mesopotamia, Babylon, Sumeria and beyond. The fabric that clothed its population, from the ruling king-priest to the most humble of its inhabitants, was spun from cotton. The simple, but effective, spinning wheel that was used to produce their handspun cotton cloth can still be seen in use today in households in most areas of rural Pakistan, particularly in the province of Sind. The manual and treadle-operated looms, which turn out much of the fabric known as “Khaadi”, or handloom fabric, in Pakistan today, are also very similar in design to those used thousands of years ago.

Pakistan’s economy is still to a great extent agro-based. While its two major crops are cotton and wheat, it is cotton that is the heart of Pakistan’s economy, with crops grown on an estimated 3.25 million hectares.

Today, Pakistan is the world’s fourth largest producer of raw cotton, after China, the USA and India. With global cotton production estimated at 116,713,000 bales and Pakistan’s production at 13,000,000 bales during the fiscal year 2006-2007, the country’s share of world output is an impressive 12% of the total.

Cotton was cultivated on 7.6 million acres of land in Pakistan during 2006-07. The target for 2007-08 is 8.1 million acres. The yield per acre was 723 pounds in 2006-07, and the projected yield for 2007-08 is 740 pounds per acre. However, the demand for raw cotton for use in textile production has continued to outstrip the supply.

During the same period of 2006-07, Pakistan’s economy recorded one of the fastest growth rates in Asia. The real GDP growth exceeded 7% and was surpassed only by China and India. Pakistan’s total exports during this period totaled US$16.5 billion, out of which $10.2 billion was the share of textiles and allied products, making up 62% of the total. To cater to the insatiable appetite of the spinning and weaving industries, Pakistan needs to import raw cotton from India and China.

Pakistan’s textile industry, like that of the rest of the world, has witnessed many ups and downs. However, overall, it is a story of growth and success. From a negligible beginning in 1948, Pakistan has seen a quantum leap in both installed and working capacity in the textile industry. The country possesses countless thousands of small, medium and large textile weaving units, equipped with hundreds of thousands of power looms, shuttle less looms, water jet and air jet looms. In 2006-2007, textiles contributed 11% to Pakistan’s GDP and provided employment to 40% of its workforce.