LAHORE: Pakistan’s water crisis is often blamed on climate change, melting glaciers, population growth and poor storage capacity. The truth neglected is that Pakistan is exporting and wasting massive volumes of scarce water through what it eats and what it wears.
Every grain of rice, every cotton shirt, every beef burger carries a hidden but enormous water footprint. This virtual water embedded in products is silently draining aquifers, rivers and reservoirs.
Food production in Pakistan, accounts for nearly 90 per cent of water withdrawals. But not all foods are equal in water use. Producing one kilogramme of wheat requires roughly 1,300 litres of water. In contrast, rice needs more than 3,000 litres per kilogramme because it is grown in flooded fields. Even more alarming is livestock: one kilogramme of beef consumes around 15,000 litres of water, largely embedded in animal feed crops.
For a water-scarce country, such patterns are unsustainable. Yet Pakistan continues to promote rice cultivation and meat consumption without any consideration of water economics. Punjab’s groundwater tables are plunging because tube wells pump billions of cubic meters of water annually to irrigate rice and fodder crops. In many districts, farmers now drill wells 300 to 500 feet deep — an unsustainable race to the bottom.
Pakistan’s textile industry, the backbone of exports, is built on cotton — one of the world’s most water-intensive crops. Producing one kilogramme of cotton fibre can require between 10,000 and 20,000 litres of water, depending on climate and irrigation practices. A single cotton T-shirt carries a water footprint of about 2,700 litres, while a pair of jeans can embody 7,500 to 10,000 litres of water. When Pakistan exports garments, it is effectively exporting its precious freshwater to global consumers — without pricing it. Water is treated as a free input, not as a scarce economic resource.
If water were priced realistically, rice cultivation in arid Punjab would be uneconomic, and cotton would face strong competition from synthetic fibres. Diets would shift toward less water-intensive foods. Industries would invest in recycling and efficiency.
Pakistan’s planners discuss fiscal deficits, exchange rates, and industrial policy, but rarely discuss the water footprint of exports and diets. This is a grave oversight. Water is not just an environmental issue; it is an economic input as critical as capital and labour.
Surface water storage in Pakistan has barely increased since the 1970s, while population has more than tripled. To compensate, farmers turned to groundwater. Pakistan is now one of the largest groundwater users in the world, extracting tens of billions of cubic meters annually.
This groundwater boom was initially a blessing, boosting agricultural output. Today, it is a looming disaster. Aquifers are being depleted faster than they can recharge, and water quality is deteriorating due to salinity and contamination.
Other countries facing water stress have already rethought crop and textile policies. Israel uses drip irrigation and high-value crops. China is shifting away from water-intensive agriculture in arid regions. Bangladesh has expanded textile exports but relies more on imported cotton, conserving domestic water.
Pakistan, by contrast, continues to grow water-hungry crops in water-scarce regions and subsidizes electricity for tube wells, encouraging over-pumping. There is no serious debate on whether exporting cotton garments is rational for a country approaching water scarcity thresholds.
Pakistan urgently needs a water-smart development strategy. This includes promoting less water-intensive crops such as maize, pulses, and oilseeds; encouraging drip and sprinkler irrigation; discouraging rice in arid zones; and promoting blended or synthetic textiles where appropriate.
Urban consumers must also be made aware that their dietary and clothing choices have national water implications. A shift toward plant-based diets and durable clothing can significantly reduce water demand.
Ignoring water footprints will have devastating consequences. Falling groundwater will reduce agricultural productivity, increase food prices and trigger rural-urban migration. Textile exports may face sustainability barriers as global buyers demand lower water footprints. Social tensions over water access are already emerging and could intensify.
