KARACHI: The local cotton market on Monday remained stable amid increased trading volume after Eid holidays.
Cotton Analyst Naseem Usman told Business Recorder that the rate of cotton in Sindh remained Rs 12900 to Rs 13000 per maund. The same in Punjab was Rs 13500 to Rs 13700 per maund.
The rate of new Phutti crop in Sindh was Rs 4800 to Rs 5400 per 40 kg while the same in Punjab remained Rs 5500 to Rs 6200 per 40 Kg. The rate of Banola in Sindh was Rs 1700 to Rs 1800 per maund and in Punjab it was Rs 1700 to Rs 1900 per maund. The rate of cotton in Balochistan remained Rs 12900-13000 per maund while the Phutti in Balochistan was Rs 5200 to RS 5700 per maund.
Around 2400 bales of Tando Adam were sold in between Rs 12500 to Rs 13000 per maund, 2000 bales of Shahdad Pur were sold in between Rs 12700 to Rs 12900 per maund, 2600 bales of Sanghar were sold at Rs 12500 to Rs 12800 per maund, 1000 bales of Mir Pur Khas were sold at Rs 12650 to Rs 12800 per maund, 800 bales of Hyderabad were sold at Rs 12700 to Rs 12800 per maund, 200 bales of Chichawatni were sold at Rs 13600 per maund, 200 bales of Mungi Bangla and 400 bales of Burewala were sold at Rs 13500 per maund.
The country is likely to miss the cotton production target of 10.5 million bales due to high inputs costs including fertilizers, diesel, tractors, pesticides, and water shortage issues.
Sources in the Ministry of National Food Security and Research (MNFSR) said that during 2020-21, the total production of the cotton crop for 2020-21 declined 23 percent to little over seven million bales against 9.15 million bales 2019-2020, and during the current season, the government is also not likely to achieve the set cotton production target owing to the above mentioned issues.
The area under cotton cultivation also fell by 17.4 percent to 2.01 million hectares compared to previous year’s 2.5 million hectares, mainly due to absence of incentives to farmers to sustain the crop amid challenges from competing crops like sugarcane.
They said that decline in cotton production was hugely impacting the country’s balance of payment as the local industry was forced to import around $3 billion worth raw cotton to meet local requirements.
They further said that in 2011, the country produced 14.7 million bales of cotton since than the crop production is declining, because the farmers did not get desirable rates and they suffered heavy financial losses as a result, they shifted on other crops especially on sugarcane and maize.
Sources said that the growers kept on urging the government for an intervention cotton price of at least Rs 5,500 per 40kg this year but the MNFSR proposed price of Rs 5,000.
The government has set the production target for 2021-22 crops at 10.5m bales, which is 50 percent higher against 2020-21. The government has also set the target of cultivating cotton over 2.33 million hectares, up 16 percent more, when compared to this year’s 2.01 million hectares.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association has appealed to the Prime Minister of Pakistan to establish an autonomous cotton control board which should be directly supervised by the Prime Minister of Pakistan in order to achieve the target of production of 20 million cotton bales and in order to save ginning industry from closure.
They also demanded that zoning of the cotton crop must be implemented in letter and spirit. Government should also ensure availability of certified, germinated heat and disease-resistant seeds.
The Spot Rate remained unchanged at Rs 12700 per maund. The rate of Polyester Fiber increased by Rs 3 per kg and was available at Rs 216 per kg.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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