Pakistan could resume import of cotton from India through the land route after domestic production of the cash crop dropped. Pakistani textile exporters have now urged Islamabad to allow import of cotton from India.

"In order to overcome the scarcity of basic raw material, the government should allow the cross-border import of cotton yarn from India to ensure continuity in export growth," news agency ANI quoted Muhammad Ahmad, Chairman Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA) as saying in a statement.

According to an article published last month in the Express Tribune, Pakistan’s cotton production has dropped 34 per cent. “The governments’ continuous negligence towards the major cash crop for several years and climate change has heavily affected the domestic economy. The situation led the textile sector (yarn manufacturers) to import cotton worth around $2 billion in this fiscal year,” it said.

Meanwhile, sources said that after India and Pakistan decided to renew their ceasefire agreement talks have resume over trade. Sources said “some limited” trade could resume between the two countries. After the Pulwama attack, India retracted the Most Favoured Nation status accorded to Pakistan.

India, the largest producer of cotton.