Cotton ginning factories in Tando Adam and other Pakistani towns have begun shutting down just weeks after reopening, following the federal government's failure to cut the 18% sales tax on raw cotton despite explicit ministerial promises. Spot cotton prices have plummeted by Rs4,000–5,000 per maund, with an estimated 1.5 million bales now moving into the undocumented underground economy, triggering fears of cascading closures across Sindh's major cotton districts.