In Pakistan, fabric production is gradually reorienting to hemp raw materials

At the moment, Pakistan can offer the market exclusively hemp fabrics or finished products with high added value. So far, technologists in the country have not reached the point of using the therapeutic properties of the plant as efficiently as possible or saturating hemp tissues with natural elements that give them significant healing potential.

On the pages of the specialized electronic edition of Ukrainian cannabis growers, the question was raised that “ Pakistan is planning to replace cotton with technical hemp ”. Why the country, which is one of the five largest producers of Cottona in the global market, plans to replace the traditional agricultural crop with hemp and for what purpose it is planned to grow industrial crops of industrial hemp, let's try to understand this material.

Three major Pakistani textile and knitwear manufacturers announced throughout 2021 that they have begun production of cotton / hemp blended denim in their production chains. Representatives of “Artistic Milliners” (Karachi); US Denim (Lahore) and Farooq Spinning Mills (Faisalabad) announce that they have begun producing denim using hemp fiber.

Following the establishment of the plant cultivation program in 2020, the Pakistani government said that industrial hemp could be a sustainable substitute for cotton production, which is declining in the country as farmers move to higher-margin crops due to low international cotton prices, and also the lack of prospects for a recovery in demand for cotton. 

Given the lack of established supply chains for national raw materials, Pakistani producers are currently forced to export hemp fiber from China. In particular, the new collection “Artistic Milliners” called “IntelliJeans” currently includes a number of products made from hemp fiber produced in the Middle Kingdom.

The US Denim fabric factory supplies denim to the fashion industry through partnerships with leading international brands such as Levi's, H&M and Marks & Spencer. Her collections are focused on sustainability and include recycled and biodegradable fibers, primarily hemp.

The representative of “Farooq Spinning Mills” speaking to the media drew attention to the fact that the company has signed a memorandum, according to which it will supply fabrics and finished products made using hemp fiber to the US market.

Taking into account the trends of the rapidly developing market for the use of hemp fiber in Pakistan, scientists from the Agricultural University located in Faisalabad took up the development of technologies for the use of hemp fiber in textiles and knitwear, in particular the adaptation of existing production facilities for the production of fabrics based on the physical properties of hemp fiber. ...

Commentary of the specialists of the Association "Ukrainian technical hemp"

Pakistan regulated the cultivation and processing of industrial hemp in September 2020. According to the plans of government officials, over the next three years, this sector of the country's production can bring about $ 1 billion to the state budget. During 2021, industrial crops of industrial hemp are planned to be cultivated in the regions of Jelum, Peshawar, Chakwala and Islamabad.

The information presented in the article may indicate several trends in the global hemp market at once:

- Pakistani textile factories supply hemp fiber manufacturers from China (it is worth considering whether it makes sense for national hemp fiber producers to rely on the Chinese market, given the fact that China is already selling not only end products with high added value, but also semi-finished products) ;

- It makes sense for national producers of hemp fiber to pay attention to the Pakistani market, since closed chains for the cultivation / processing and sale of high value-added hemp fiber products will be formed on it in the near future, and at the same time there is no high-quality seed material. At the moment, you can compete for the hemp fiber market and, accordingly, participate in the creation of capacities for the primary and deep processing of hemp straw / trusts;

- one of the markets for the sale of hemp products with high added value is the United States. Considering the fact that more than five production sites for primary and advanced processing of hemp fiber are being formed in the country, Pakistan is trying to enter the market of the most economically developed country in the world even before cheap American fiber begins to enter the country's market; 

- at the moment Pakistan can offer the market exclusively hemp fabrics or finished products with high added value. So far, technologists in the country have not reached the point of using the therapeutic properties of the plant as efficiently as possible or saturating hemp tissues with natural elements that give them significant healing potential.

During the round table “ Problems and prospects of the use of therapeutically active elements of hemp as a basis for nutraceuticals, medicinal cosmetics, animal feed or other products with the healing properties of a plant ” held for the listeners of the 6th stream of “ Hemp University ”, several presentations were prepared at once concerning national developments to significantly increase the therapeutic properties of textiles and knitwear made from hemp fiber.

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