Harare – Agro-focused Group, Cottco says it is putting in place measures to improve productivity and quality as it seeks to reclaim its status as one of the world’s top-quality producers.
Cottco which administers Government inputs scheme in a statement said after increasing production in the past three seasons it is now placing more emphasis on boosting productivity to further grow volumes and increase productivity.
According to Cottco, Zimbabwe’s cotton production plummeted 28 000 tonnes in 2015/16 season, the lowest in nearly two decades, but output bounced back with national deliveries reaching 142 000 tonnes last year.
Of this, 127 000 tonnes were grown under the Presidential Inputs Scheme, partly meant to help vulnerable communities.
This was up from 74 000 tonnes produced during the previous season and Cottco said a validation exercise is still underway to determine potential production for this year.
At its peak in 2013, the country produced 352 000 tonnes of cotton, but plummeted in recent years chiefly due to poor funding.
The Government’s inputs package includes basal and top-dressing fertilisers, seed and chemicals.
In 2014 the ZSE suspended Cottco on the local bourse after the Group applied for a judiciary management to the High Court. The company had been reeling in debts amounting to $126 million but managed to reduce its debt to $41 million after disposing of its shareholdings in two subsidiaries, Olivine Industries and Seedco.
In 2015, the government of Zimbabwe approved a free input support program to revive cotton production, due to the crop's strategic importance.
At least 70 percent of the cotton lint is reserved for the off-shore markets and the remaining 30 percent for the local market.
Foreign lint buyers include Olam from Singapore, Devcote and Mambo Commodities from France and Louis Dreyfus and Cotton Distributors from Switzerland.
Total domestic cotton lint consumption in the 2017/18 MY is forecast at 9,800 MT (44,982 480lb bales), while the lint consumption for the 2016/17 MY is estimated at 8,000 MT (36,720 480lb bales). Consumption in the 2015/16 MY was set at 4,800 MT (22,032 480lb bales).
The textile and clothing sector in Zimbabwe consist of three components, namely: the production and ginning of cotton, transformation of lint into yarn and fabric and the conversion of fabric and yarn into garments. However, an increasing number of textile mills in the country are closing down due to the high costs of production and the influx of cheap clothing and fabrics. Other problems confronting the sector are outdated technology, low productivity and lack of investment.
The de-industrialisation of the textile sector has resulted in Zimbabwe exporting most of its cotton lint, depriving the country of the much-needed foreign exchange earnings if it had exported value added products such as yarn and fabric.
The local fabric market is now dominated by imports particularly from China, Pakistan and India. Most clothing retail shops are also largely packed with imported clothes.
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