Volume of business satisfactory on cotton market

KARACHI: The local cotton market on Friday remained stable. Trading volume was also satisfactory.

Cotton Analyst Naseem Usman told that the rate of cotton in Sindh is in between Rs 12900 to Rs 13100 per maund. The rate of cotton in Punjab is in between Rs 13700 to Rs 13800 per maund.

The rate of new crop of Phutti in Sindh was in between Rs 5600 to Rs 5900 per 40 kg. The rate of Phutti in Punjab is in between Rs 5400 to Rs 6100 per 40 kg. The rate of Banola in Sindh is in between Rs 1700 to Rs 1900 per maund. The rate of Banola in Punjab is in between Rs 1900 to Rs 2100 per maund.

Different Industrial Associations of Karachi as appealed to the Prime Minister to restore the gas supply to the industry of Karachi as the production of the entire industry has come to halt due to closure of gas supply and zero gas pressure.

Prime Minister Imran Khan was given a briefing on textile sector in context of its improvement as a result of the steps taken by the government.

The meeting was attended by PM’s Adviser on Trade and Investment Abdul Razzak Dawood, Special Assistant on Political Affairs Malik Amir Dogar, and the Members of National Assembly Asim Nazir, Raza Nasrullah Ghuman, Khurram Shehzad and industrialist Shahid Nazir.

MNA Asim Nazir briefed the Prime Minister on issues related to the textile sector and its role in exports. He also presented to the prime minister suggestions for further improvement and development of textile sector.

The meeting also discussed political situation in the country, relief to the people in the budget and measures to facilitate and develop industries.

Chairman Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association Dr Jasu Mal Limani called on Chairman Pakistan People Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and briefed him about the problems faced by cotton ginners which includes proposal of imposition of 17 % sales tax on Cotton Seed Oil and enhancing the tax ratio on cotton from 10 % to 17 %.

Climate change impacts, from hotter temperatures to more droughts and floods, threaten much of the world’s cotton production, risking worsening shortages, higher prices and financial woes for growers, researchers warned on Wednesday.

Protecting the $12-billion market - in countries such as India, the United States, Brazil and China - will require both slashing emissions to limit planetary heating and stepped-up efforts by farmers to adapt to the new risks, they said.

By 2040, 40% of cotton-producing regions are likely to see their growing seasons shortened by rising heat, while drought could hit half of the global crop, according to a report produced by Cotton 2040, an initiative working for a more sustainable and climate-resilient cotton industry.

Eventually, if efforts to cut emissions fail and warming ramps up in line with the harshest scientific projections, cotton could be dramatically reduced as a crop, leaving the industry “a shadow of what it is today”, said Sally Uren, Chief Executive of Forum for the Future, an international non-profit that backs Cotton 2040.

ICE cotton futures eased off a one-week high on Thursday on favourable weather conditions and weekly data showing lower export sales, as the market awaits a federal acreage report due on June 30.

Cotton contracts for December fell 0.28 cents, or 0.3%, to 86.66 cents per lb by 11:44 a.m. EDT (1544 GMT), having risen to their highest since June 16 at 87.00 cents on Wednesday.

“There are good rains coming over the next 7-10 days” which are weighing on the cotton and grains markets, said Jon Marcus, president of Lakefront Futures and Options brokerage in Chicago, adding that the weekly export sales report was “lacklustre”.

“The market is waiting for the final acreage numbers, and it seems like (it) is not anticipating a huge increase in acreage, but a drop in acres.”

The US Department of Agriculture’s weekly export sales report showed net sales of 74,700 running bales for the 2020/2021 marketing year, down 33% from the previous week and 48% from the prior 4-week average.

“The weather has become a part of the market and that’s what caused the rally yesterday, but we’ve got a pretty strong resistance area on the daily chart,” said Jack Scoville, vice president at Chicago-based Price Futures Group.

US corn, soybean and wheat futures fell, pressured by rain in key growing areas of the US Midwest and forecasts for more showers that will shepherd crops through critical development stages.

Total futures market volume fell by 8,499 to 10,466 lots. Data showed total open interest gained 291 to 208,157 contracts in the previous session.

Certificated cotton stocks deliverable as of June 23 totalled 165,925 480-lb bales, unchanged from 165,925 in the previous session.

The Spot Rate remained unchanged at Rs 12600 per maund. The Polyester Fiber was available at Rs 207 per kg.