Pakistan's cotton sector stands at a critical crossroads, with its primary research institution paralyzed by years of administrative neglect and a stalled government merger that experts say is prolonging the industry's decline. The Pakistan Central Cotton Committee (PCCC), tasked with driving research and development for the country's second-largest agricultural export earner, operates with just a quarter of its required staff while the federal cabinet has failed to act on its own approved restructuring plan. Production numbers paint a stark picture: the country produced roughly 5.6 million bales in the 2025-26 season, far short of the 15 million bales annually demanded by the domestic textile industry. This shortfall has forced Pakistan to spend approximately $2.5 billion importing 7 million bales from Brazil and the United States last year, with a similar import volume expected this season as domestic output hovers between 5.5 and 6 million bales. Main Developments The PCCC's institutional collapse is documented in alarming detail. Out of 752 sanctioned positions, 564 remain vacant, leaving only 26 percent of the workforce operational. Five grade 20 officer posts have sat unfilled for over a decade, and all promotions and recruitments have been frozen for approximately 15 years, according to an official source speaking on condition of anonymity. Read also: Pakistan Releases Rs10bn Export Package to Boost Liquidity Financial mismanagement compounds the staffing crisis. Salaries and pensions at the PCCC were suspended from July 2025 through April 2026, while more than Rs2 billion in outstanding dues from the textile sector remain uncollected due to a weak recovery system under the Ministry of National Food Security and Research (MNFSR). The cotton cess has remained fixed at Rs50 per bale since 2012 despite substantial increases in operational costs. Administrative leadership is equally unstable. The PCCC has no permanent vice president, and employees have not received due ad hoc relief payments for several years. The official highlighted that these planning and policy flaws are also delaying the merger of the PCCC into the Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC), despite government approval granted 18 months ago. The legal groundwork for the merger is reportedly complete, with the Ministry of Law having urged the MNFSR to bring the matter before the National Assembly and Senate for vetting. However, no cabinet meeting has been convened on the merger for several months, leaving the process in limbo. Background Pakistan's cotton sector has experienced dramatic fluctuations over the past three decades. The country achieved bumper crops on three occasions: 12.8 million bales in 1991-92, 14.8 million bales in 2004-05, and 14.0 million bales in 2014-15. These historical highs stand in sharp contrast to current production levels, which have fallen by more than 60 percent from the peak. The constitutional landscape shifted after the 18th Amendment devolved agriculture to provincial governments, complicating federal oversight. The PCCC, with an annual budget of Rs800 million, operates alongside Punjab's cotton research department, which commands Rs7-8 billion annually, highlighting resource disparities within the sector. Former PCCC vice president Dr Yusuf Zafar told Business Recorder that the cabinet special committee for rightsizing and restructuring of the federal government decided in January 2025 to merge the PCCC with PARC. A separate committee on special crops, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, subsequently gave verbal instructions to expedite the process through a Presidential Ordinance, aiming for parliamentary completion within a three-month window. A later meeting in October 2025 on the cotton crop saw the Deputy Prime Minister ask the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) to take over the PCCC. APTMA instead proposed forming an independent cotton board under the Prime Minister, with revised minutes issued by the MNFSR. No such board was ever announced, as the ministry never moved a summary to the federal cabinet. Why It Matters The stakes extend far beyond institutional bureaucracy. Experts argue the cotton sector cannot revive without a comprehensive national cotton policy, warning of negative repercussions including reputational risk to the government, adverse impact on the national economy, and potential collapse of the PCCC itself. Zafar attributed declining production to two main factors: bad governance and the federal government's lack of a clear roadmap. He specifically criticized the Export Facilitation Scheme (EFS), which allowed duty-free import of raw cotton and yarn, resulting in what he described as massive dumping by China and the collapse of local looms and spinning mills. "Some textile houses with a narrow focus on short-term gains are pushing decision makers on liberal cotton imports which last year touched nearly $3 billion," Zafar said. He dismissed the commonly