KARACHI: The Spot Rate Committee of the Karachi Cotton Association on Saturday increased the spot rate by Rs 50 per maund and closed it at Rs 9050 per maund.
The local cotton market remained bullish on Saturday.
Cotton Analyst Naseem Usman told that supply and quality of Phutti is improving day by day with every passing day. He also told that import agreements of 15 lac bales were signed. It is expected that 45 lac bales will be imported. He told that either there is a buyer of high quality cotton or low quality cotton in the market. However, there is hardly any buyer of mixed quality cotton.
Earlier, Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research (NFSR),Syed Fakhar Imam on Friday while chairing meeting on Cotton Crop Assessment Committee said that Pakistan’s cotton sector would surely improve in coming years as effective measures are being taken. He was of the view that issues of domestic cotton production are seed quality, absence of new seed technology, heat waves and climate change, cotton leaf curl virus, pink bollworm and white fly.
He also said that there is 4% decline in cotton area. Resultantly pest complex has changed. In case of cotton, loss is observed Multan division. Comparatively Bahawalpur and DG Khan is doing better. Punjab assessed production target between 5.30mn bales. Sindh also mentioned that due to heavy rains cotton crop is facing lots of issues. Mirpurkhas and Sanghar has faced crop damage. Sindh gave target of 3mn bales. KPK gave target of 0.065mn bales and Balochistan gave target of 0.291mn bales. The total estimated production of the country will be 8.597mn bales.
Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) mentioned that for next 6 to 8 week there will be dry weather. FSC&RD mentioned that this year for cotton seed the target area for inspection is 365000 acres and already inspected area is 147000 acres. This year target expectation for cotton seed is 72176 metric tonnes
Moreover, Pakistan exported US 54.613 million dollars of cotton yarn in August, registering a year-on-year decline of 51.36%, China Economic Net (CEN) reported on Friday quoting official sources. However, its cotton yarn export to China has surged in the same month.
As data from China’s General Administration of Customs shows, China imported US 41.836 million dollars worth of cotton yarn from Pakistan in August, which is 4.36 times the 9.592 million dollars in the same period last year, with a year-on-year increase of 336 percent.
Pakistan mainly produces low-count sirospun yarns, such as those of 8s or 10s, generally below 21s, which are mostly imported to south China’s Guangdong province to be made into denim, said Huang Xifeng, sales executive of import and export department at Litai Xingshi (Taicang) Holding Co Ltd.
Mian Anjum Nisar, president of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry, has urged the government to immediately ask the SSGC to restore gas supply with the required pressure to overcome the supply and demand gap of energy.
He said that the businesses and industries are already passing through un-conducive business conditions of high cost of inputs and deteriorating infrastructure.
The export industry after COVID-19 was recovering fast but unfortunately due to gas supply interruptions, followed by electricity shutdowns, the production of goods for export has suffered 30 percent reduction.
Naseem told that August 2020 was supposed to be the low point in Pakistan’s external trade scorecard. Heavy monsoon rains across the country disrupted supply chain, with the destruction in Karachi particularly affecting the port activity.
As a result, monthly figures for both goods imports and exports have recorded double digit decline. Yet, textile group imports stand out, which recorded nearly 40 percent rise on a year-on-year basis. Why? Raw cotton imports.
As per PBS Advance Releases, Pakistan recorded its highest ever raw cotton import bill for the month of August (on a seasonal basis) this year. In fact, raw cotton import volume during the month was 12.5 times higher than same month last year and 3.5 times higher than average August imports over the last decade!
Naseem Usman told that according to the statistics released by Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association till September 15, 2020 10 lac 35 thousand bales were produced in the country which is 44.12% less as compared to the last years cotton production of 18 lac 52 thousand bales.
He also told that textile imports will further increase as a result of which country’s economy will further deteriorate.
According to the first estimate released by Agriculture Crop Reporting Service, the sowing of cultivated area during 2020-21 season witnessed a decline of 12% owing to major reason behind this was non availability of good quality of seeds. The reason monsoon spell had caused huge loss in Sindh especially in the districts of Sanghar, Mirpurkhas, Umer Kot, Badin, Tando Allah Yar, Tando Muhammad Khan, Hyderabad and Dadu.
The report indicated that 25% cotton crop in Sindh has been damaged quality and supply of seed cotton was affected. Picking was also affected due to rains. Similarly, the rains in cotton belt of Punjab have caused loss to cotton crop. The high moisture makes the cotton crop susceptible to Pink boll worm attacks. The pink boll worm attacks can damage around 20 to 30 percent of the crop and affect the lint quality. The farmers are advised to immediately drain out water from their fields.
He also told that this year due to torrential rains, unsuitable weather conditions, corona lockdown and especially due to the substandard seeds cotton production was badly effected.
Amid coronavirus cases increasing in competitor economies including India and Bangladesh, garment orders are rapidly shifting to Pakistan.
He also told that 600 bales of Sanghar were sold at Rs 8175, 200 bales of Golarchi were sold at Rs 8000, 1600 bales of Tando Adam were sold at Rs 8150 to Rs 8400, 600 bales of Nawabshah were sold at RS 8500 to Rs 8550, 1000 bales of Khairpur were sold at Rs 8900 to Rs 9000, 400 bales of Saleh Pat were sold at Rs 8900 to Rs 9000, 400 bales of Bahawal Nagar were sold at Rs 9300, 400 bales of Donga Bonga were sold at RS 9300, 800 bales of Haroonabad were sold at Rs 9250 to RS 9300, 200 bales of Rahim Yar Khan were sold at Rs 9300, 400 bales of Ahmedpur East were sold at RS 9250, 1000 bales of Fort Abbas were sold at RS 9250, 400 bales of Faqeerwali were sold at Rs 9250, 1200 bales of Yazman Mandi were sold at Rs 9200 to Rs 9250, 200 bales of Ghazi Ghat were sold at Rs 9100 and 400 bales of Burewala were sold at Rs 8700 to 8750.
He told that rate of cotton in Sindh was in between Rs 8200 to Rs 9100. The rate of cotton in Punjab is in between Rs 8800 to Rs 9300. He also told that Phutti of Sindh was sold in between Rs 3800 to Rs 4100 per 40 kg. The rate of Phutti in Punjab is in between Rs 3800 to Rs 4600 per 40 kg.
The rate of Banola in Sindh was in between Rs 1500 to Rs 1800 while the price of Banola in Punjab was in between Rs 1600 to Rs 1900. The rate of cotton in Balochistan is in between Rs 8600 to Rs 8900 while the rate of Phutti is in between Rs 4400 to Rs 5300.
The Spot Rate Committee of the Karachi Cotton Association increased the spot rate by Rs 50 per maund and closed it at Rs 9050 per maund. The polyester fiber was available at Rs 153 per kg.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020