LAHORE: The local market on Monday remained steady and the trading volume remained low. The Spot Rate remained unchanged.
Cotton Analyst Nasseem Usman while talking to Business Recorder said that price of Punjab’s Phutti attracted per 40 kilograms prices from Rs 7000 to Rs 8600. Cotton of Sindh was traded from Rs 15500 to Rs 20,000 per maund, Punjab’s cotton was traded from Rs 16500 to Rs 20,000 per maund. He told that 1200 bales of Rahim Yar Khan were sold at Rs 19500 per maund.
He also told that 1439 bales of Rahim Yar Khan was sold at Rs 20,000 per maund, 200 bales of Chichawatni were sold at Rs 19250 per maund and 400 bales of Fort Abbas were sold at Rs 17500 per maund.
All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) has raised questions on the government’s decision to give preference to public sector low-yielding cotton varieties over high-yielding varieties of the private sector.
In a letter to Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Syed Fakhar Imam, copies of which have also been sent to PM Advisor on Commerce and Investment, Abdul Razak Dawood and Minister for Agriculture, Punjab Husain Jahania Gardezi, APTMA has referred to its previous letter of June 11, 2021, to Ministry of National Food Security and Research in response to their required inquiry regarding “approval of cotton varieties under different staple length parameters.”
The Association argued that if there are genuine high-yielding varieties that require staple length relaxation, they should be relaxed after NCVT testing results, which confirm their high yield and other characteristics, adding that high-yield parameters should be set to indicate that a particular variety yields more than a fixed standard; for example, a newly released variety should yield at least 5% more than the NCVT-standard variety being used as a check.
“Without any categorization for staple length, just the change from 28mm to 27mm for high-yielding varieties can be accommodated in order to release high-yielded varieties to improve cotton production,” said the body.
Another letter written by APTMA to Cotton Research Institute Multan in response to requested comments regarding reconsideration of the fibre quality standards of cotton very clearly supported approval of high-yielding varieties with fibre length of 27mm to compete domestic cotton production issue due to unavailability of high-yielding varieties.
One of the main reasons for the decline of cotton production in the country is the lack of high-yielding cotton varieties and the supply of uncertified/fake seed.
During the cropping season 2021-22, around 70-80 percent of the area under cotton cultivation was covered by the uncertified seed of unapproved varieties, which is expected to persist in the coming season due to poor variety approval system by the provincial seed councils.
The Spot Rate remained unchanged at Rs 19300 per maund. The rate of Polyester Fiber was increased by Rs 3 and was available at Rs 263 per kg.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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