The Chairman of Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA), Amanullah Qureshi has sent an SOS appeal to Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani to save the cotton growers and the ginners from financial losses as the textile millers have created a cartel to keep the prices at the lowest level in spite of the fact that New York and other markets prices are stable and higher than Pakistan.
Talking to newsmen here on Saturday Amanullah said that the government should ask the Trading Corporation of Pakistan to play its role as third buyer to break the cartel of the spinners, weavers and other textile millers. He said that ginners would be forced to export cotton to China and Turkey directly to save themselves from financial losses. Then textile millers would have to import cotton at highest rates, spending huge precious foreign exchange. He said that the textile millers should keep in their mind that rupee is depreciating rapidly and they would have to purchase cotton from different countries at Rs 10,000 per maund.
Trading remained range-bound amid strong physical price and firm spot rate with plenty of compensatory deals, traders at Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) said on Saturday. KCA spot rate committee kept the spot rate unchanged at Rs 6,100 per maund, keeping in view the interests of ginners having poor grades for getting good return, floor brokers said. They said that leading mills eyed fine lint in Punjab and Sindh stations, while spinners bought odd lots for blending purpose. However, fine lint fetched slightly higher price as compared to previous day's trading around Rs 6,600 per maund. The mills and spinners bought 85 percent of total market dealings as they purchased all grades on competitive rates, while private sector commercial exporters bought selective lots in Punjab and Sindh.
Cottonseed changed hands at around Rs 2,400 per maund to Rs 2,900 per maund in Punjab stations while in Sindh stations cottonseed fetched Rs 1,950 per maund to 2,650 per maund, floor brokers said. Most of the deals were of medium grade that changed hands as such grade was accepted by textile sector due to absence of fine quality lint in abundance, said an analyst. He said due to pressure on New York cotton prices, the domestic market was also feeling brunt. He said Sindh stations fetched prices around Rs 5,800 per maund to Rs 6,000 per maund depending on grade. Besides, few ginneries were ginning better cottonseed with less contamination around 5-6 percent.
Ahmad said better grades would start coming in the market in plenty after Eid ul Azha as most of the stocks of cottonseed in Sindh would dry. He said the ginneries in Sindh and Punjab were still busy in blending in order to average their cost price. He said availability grades (1505 grade I, 1467 grade II and 1503 grade III) has not been possible in plenty due to non-availability of fine grade cottonseed.
He said prices of low grade maintained their levels because of higher demand of fine grade during the trading session. He said buyers in Punjab and Sindh also made compensatory deals at around Rs 5,650 per maund, while spinners bought odd lots at around Rs 5,100 per maund to Rs 5,200 per maund. He said that around 21,000 bales in Sindh and Punjab stations changed hands on ready delivery basis, which fetched better prices than spot rate. Ahmad said New York futures market remained under correction as December stayed at 96.26 cents per pound and March 2012 stood at 95.42 cents per pound. Cotlook A index closed at 109.65 cents per pound.