KARACHI: The Spot Rate Committee of the Karachi Cotton Association on Monday increased the spot rate by Rs 50 per maund and closed it at Rs 14100 per maund.
The Spot Rate Committee of the Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) increased the spot rate by Rs 50 per maund and closed it at Rs 14100 per maund. The Polyester Fiber was available at Rs 222 per kg.
Cotton Analyst Naseem Usman told Business Recorder that the rate of cotton reached at Rs 14400 per maund which is highest in eleven years while the rate of cotton in Sindh reached at Rs 14200 per maund. The local cotton market remained bullish and the trading volume was good.
The rate of cotton in Sindh is in between Rs 14000 to Rs 14400 per maund and the rate of cotton in Punjab is in between Rs 14000 to Rs 14450 per maund.
The rate of the new crop of Phutti in Sindh was in between Rs 5800 to Rs 6200 per 40 kg. The rate of Phutti in Punjab is in between Rs 5800 to Rs 6250 per 40 kg. The rate of Banola in Sindh is in between Rs 1750 to Rs 1850 per maund. The rate of Banola in Punjab is in between Rs 1800 to Rs 1900 per maund. The rate of cotton in Balochistan is Rs 14100- 14200 per maund. The rate of Phutti in Balochistan is Rs 6300- 7000 per maund.
Around 800 bales of Saleh Pat were sold at Rs 14300 per maund, 1800 bales of Nawab Shah were sold at Rs 14000 to Rs 14250 per maund, 600 bales of Kotri were sold at Rs 13975 to Rs 14050 per maund, 1000 bales of Sanghar, 1200 bales of Shahdad Pur, 1400 bales of Tando Adam were sold at Rs 14000 to Rs 14100 per maund, 600 bales of Shah Pur Chakar were sold at Rs 14000 per maund, 400 bales of Haroonabad were sold at Rs 14400 to Rs 14450 per maund, 400 bales of Rahim Yar Khan were sold at Rs 14400 per maund, 400 bales of Fort Abbas were sold at Rs 14350 per maund, 200 bales of Dharan Wala were sold at RS 14400 per maund, 200 bales of Layyah were sold at Rs 14350 per maund and 200 bales of Pakpattan were sold at Rs 14300 per maund.
It is that time of the year again. As cotton harvest season looms in, casual lamentation of crop’s decline and the reasons thereof begins. Even highest global prices in nearly 10 years have failed to revive the area under cotton crop during the ongoing season. As per PCCC’s estimates, national acreage is at least 13 percent less than last season, and lowest in 43 years!
Put another way, compared to present, Pakistan had more area under cotton crop before Tarbela and Mangla dams were commissioned; that brought thousands of acres under irrigated cultivation! The crop is simply no longer popular with local farmers, especially in regions where growers have access to substitute crops. But which crop exactly has done the most damage to cotton’s fortunes?
Although most commentators are quick to point at sugarcane as cotton’s worst enemy, this is far from accurate.
Consider that since FY12, cotton has lost nearly half of the 8 million acres sown at its peak. Meanwhile, sugarcane has gained only 0.5 million acres during the same period. Clearly, attributing all of cotton’s loss to sugarcane is at best disingenuous.
To better understand the underlying trends that have overcome cotton during the last decade, a region-wise analysis of competing crops cultivation in Punjab province is presented hereunder.
Under the Punjab Control on Establishment and Enlargement Ordinance, sugar mill establishment was banned in central and southern Punjab districts, beginning from Toba Tek Singh, Sahiwal, Pakpattan, to Multan, Lodhran, Khanewal, Vehari, Muzaffargarh, Layyah, DG Khan, Rajanpur, Bahawalpur, RYK, and Bahawalnagar. This was ostensibly done to protect “cotton belt” in the region.
Although it is correct that the ordinance was suspended on several occasions to issue sugar mill licenses to politically-connected groups during mid-2000s, the spill over damage has largely been restricted to Rahim Yar Khan district. Until 2012, cotton was the largest crop in 17 out of 20 districts of central and southern Punjab. Today, the crop has lost that mantle in at least 9 districts, retaining its dominance only in the deep south.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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