LAHORE: A kind of dullness prevailed in the local cotton market on Saturday while the trading volume remained low. Cotton Analyst Naseem Usman told Business Recorder that Spot Rate remained unchanged. He also told that rate of cotton in Punjab and Sindh is in between Rs 18000 to Rs 20,000 per maund.
Vice President Pakistan Central Cotton Committee (PCCC) Dr Muhammad Ali Talpur said on Monday that modern cotton seed technology would be introduced soon in the country to promote cotton production and empower farmers economically.
“In the next two to three years, all issues pertaining to cotton seeds will be resolved and the Ministry of National food Security will provide resources to the Pakistan Central Cotton Committee to ensure promotion of modern seed technology, Muhammad Ali Talpur said this while presiding over a meeting of agricultural scientists at CCRI Multan. Ministry of National Food Security would ensure availability of modern genetic technology of cotton and use it in locally grown cotton varieties, said Talpur.
Agreements will be signed with international seed companies for the supply of new gene seed technology. Apart from this, Dr Muhammad Ali Talpur also reviewed various ongoing projects of PCCC in the field of cotton research and gave the task to agricultural scientists to work on some other projects.
Dr Ali Talpur said that production and supply of seeds produced in research institutes would be preserved on scientific basis instead of traditional methods. Computerized record of the seed will be compiled. Written agreements will be done with the seed companies for multiplication of seed. PCCC will offer seed to farmers by 2023.
Dr Ali Talpur said that production of high quality seeds would not only reduce production cost but also significant increase cotton production. The increase in per acre production would bring prosperity in the life of the farmer and stabilize the national economy. Speaking on the occasion, Director Central Cotton Research Institute, Multan Chaudhary Zahid said that the institute had been working on genetic seed technology for many years.
He further said that CCRI would conduct new experiments in Cholistan and Chakwal for multiplication of cotton seeds. The meeting was attended by heads of various departments.
Moreover, ICE cotton futures jumped nearly 4% to their daily trading limit on Friday, bolstered by strong demand as worsening drought conditions in key growing regions such as Texas raised concerns over a shortage in supply.
The first month contract on ICE futures for May rose 5 cents, or 3.8%, to135.90 cents per lb, by 12:50 p.m. EDT (1650 GMT), its highest since July 2011 at 135.90 cents per lb.
The contract was up more than 7% for the week, its biggest weekly percentage jump since October 2021. “The two drivers would be the continuation of drought conditions in Texas and Oklahoma, and we had a marketing year high on shipments in the Thursday weekly export sales report,” said Keith Brown, principal at Keith Brown and Co in Georgia.
“When you have big shipments like this and a potential to have trouble with the new crop, it certainly causes the end users and speculators to buy the market.” More than half of Kansas was classified as under severe drought or worse as of March 8, according to the National Drought Mitigation Center. Severe drought is also covering three-quarters of Oklahoma and more than two-thirds of Texas. ...
The Spot Rate remained unchanged at Rs 20,000 per maund. Polyester Fiber was available at Rs 285 per kg.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022