KARACHI: The local cotton market remained stable on Wednesday. Market sources told that mills were involved in cautious buying due to which the trading volume remained low.
Cotton Analyst Naseem Usman told that according to the estimates released by the Cotton Crop Assessment Committee meeting held in Islamabad, the cotton production during the current season will be at 8.597 million bales against the fixed target of 10.89 million bales. However, according to the estimates of private sector the cotton production will below 7 million bales of 157 kg weight.
Punjab assessed production at 5.30 million bales, Sindh gave target of 3.0 million bales, KPK 0.0065 million bales and Balochistan gave target of 0.291 million bales. The major reason behind this was non availability of good quality of seeds, absence of new seed technology, heatwave, climate change and pest attack.
Meanwhile, textile value-added sector has urged the government to allow duty-free cotton yarn to reduce cost of production and increase the country’s exports.
Muhammad Jawed Bilwani, Chairman, Pakistan Apparel Forum, said that the government’s lack of priority and attention to increase cotton yield to support the entire value-added textile chain was highly shocking and deplorable.
He further said that Pakistan was an agriculture country but no concrete steps and measures along with productive policy had been witnessed from successive governments during the last several decades to uplift per hectare yield of the agriculture produce particularly of cotton.
Cotton Analyst Naseem Usman told that it is expected that this year cotton production will be 35% less as compared to last year. He said that after the decrease in cotton production we have to import cotton of worth millions of dollar like we are importing edible oil of worth millions of dollars.
he government has almost finalised the Textile Policy 2020-25 with textile products’ export target of $20.8 billion and eight objectives starting from encouraging value addition, ensuring profitability of cotton growers to strengthen Pakistan’s expertise in manmade fiber, putting small medium enterprises (SMEs) on priority for infrastructure, compliance, energy efficiency, quality assurance and productivity projects.
Naseem also told that The Brand Development Fund (BDF) will be launched to help boost export of textile products. Textiles and apparel machinery will be zero rated.
Under the proposed textile policy, electricity tariff will be at 7.5 cent per unit and RLNG tariff at 6.5 cent per MMBTU, while the system gas will be provided to textile sector at Rs786 per MMBTU. However, the current electricity tariff for export industry stands at 9 cent per unit that will be decreased to 7.5 cent per unit for three years (till 2025), once the policy is approved and gets enforced.
Electricity tariff of 7.5 cent per unit and gas price of $6.5 per MMBTU till 2025 will help attract investment in textiles and apparel value-chain and textile.
The Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PRGMEA) regional chairman Adeeb Iqbal has appealed the State Bank of Pakistan to stop sending show cause notices to the exporters for not realizing their exports’ proceeds due to global outbreak of Covid-19.
In a statement issued here on Monday, he said that the show cause notices by the SBP have created a lot of resentment and unrest among the value-added textile exporters, who are already facing severe liquidity crunch owing to non-payment by the international buyers for indefinite period amidst post-corona worldwide economic slowdown.
The central bank has to make amendments in Foreign Exchange Regulations in the wake of the emerging circumstances due to global outbreak of COVID-19, allowing extension in the realization period beyond six months from the date of exports shipment, he demanded. “We request the SBP governor to formalize new policies in consultations with the exporters, including PRGMEA, making new policies in this regard in view of the post-corona economic crunch when the foreign buyers have either held their payments or making partial payments,” he added.
Chairman Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association Dr Jassumal said that during the meeting of the Federal Committee on Agriculture the support price of Kharif crops were determined but the support price of cotton was not discussed.
Naseem told that 400 bales of Tando Adam were sold at Rs 9550 per maund, 2400 bales of Khairpur were sold at Rs 9400 to Rs 9700 per maund, 1800 bales of Haroonabad were sold at Rs 10,350 to Rs 10,400 per maund, 1200 bales of Donga Bonga were sold at Rs 10,400 per maund, 3600 bales of Rahim Yar Khan, 3200 bales of Khanpur, 2200 bales of Sadiqabad, 400 bales of Liaquatpur, 200 bales of Shuja Abad, 600 bales of Yazman Mandi were sold at Rs 10,300 per maund, 800 bales of Fort Abbas, 400 bales of Faqeerwali were sold at Rs 10,350 per maund, 400 bales of Rajanpur were sold at Rs 10,100 per maund and 600 bales of Layyah were sold at Rs 9700 per maund.
He told that rate of cotton in Sindh was in between Rs 8600 to Rs 10,000. The rate of cotton in Punjab is in between Rs 9800 to Rs 10,400. He also told that Phutti of Sindh was sold in between Rs 4000 to Rs 5100 per 40 kg. The rate of Phutti in Punjab is in between Rs 4400 to Rs 5300 per 40 kg.
The rate of Banola in Sindh was in between Rs 1650 to Rs 2100 while the price of Banola in Punjab was in between Rs 1850 to Rs 2150. The rate of cotton in Balochistan is in between Rs 9400 to Rs 9800 while the rate of Phutti is in between Rs 5000 to Rs 5400.
The Spot Rate Committee of the Karachi Cotton Association stabled the spot rate at Rs 10,100 per maund. The Polyster Fiber was available at Rs 158 per kg.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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