KARACHI : The Spot Rate Committee of the Karachi Cotton Association on Tuesday has increased the spot rate by Rs 100 per maund and closed it at Rs 9600 per maund.

The local cotton market remained bullish on Tuesday. Cotton Analyst Naseem Usman told that market volume is satisfactory.

Cotton prices rose more than 1% to an 1-1/2-year high on Monday as the rollout of a Covid-19 vaccine boosted the demand outlook for the natural fibre, with the weaker dollar also contributing to the upbeat mood.

The cotton contract for March was up 0.79 cent, or 1.1%, at 74.87 cents per lb at 12:17 p.m. EST (1717 GMT), after hitting its highest level since May 2019 at 75.20 cents earlier in the session.

"Over the weekend, the Covid-19 vaccine was shipped to hospitals and places across the country, so that sort of lends a bit of optimism," said Keith Brown, principal at cotton brokers Keith Brown and Co in Georgia.

Also helping cotton prices, the US dollar is at a multi-year low and the US Department of Agriculture lowered production and ending stock estimates last week, he added

Naseem also told that Pakistan's textile exports seem to have largely recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic shocks and are still growing. The recent monthly data published by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics for the first four months of the current financial year confirms that the textile and clothing export shipments are back on growth trajectory both in terms of their quantity and dollar value.

The data shows that the textile shipments have surged by 3.8 per cent to $4.8 billion between July and October from $4.6bn a year ago. The rise in the textile and clothing group has been a wee faster than the 0.6pc growth in the overall export. The export recovery is most prominent in the knitwear, home textiles and denim segments.

Moreover, Pakistan has been one of the major textile producing and exporting country for over five decades. By now, we should have been a major global provider of skilled and managerial talent to the newly emerging and aspiring developing countries trying to establish themselves in this field.

However, the reality is opposite and our own industrial sectors consider the shortage of skilled manpower as big issue as the rising cost of production which affects their global competitiveness as much as the others. To overcome the skill shortages, many manufacturers have instituted on-the-job training at their factories, Faisal Mehboob Sh, Chairman Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PHMA) (North Zone) said in a press statement.

Naseem told that 1200 bales of Dherki were sold at Rs 9500v to Rs 9650, 800 bales of Ghotki were sold at Rs 9475 to Rs 9550 per maund, 800 bales of Mir Pur Mathelo were sold at Rs 9450 to Rs 9550, 200 bales of Panu Aqil were sold at Rs 9500, 3000 bales of Khair Pur were sold at Rs 8800 to Rs 9300, 200 bales of Rohri were sold at Rs 8800, 2400 bales of Rahim Yar Khan were sold at Rs 9700 to Rs 9800, 1800 bales of Sadiqabad were sold at Rs 9500 to Rs 9800, 600 bales of Khan Pur, 400 bales of Bagho Bahar were sold at Rs 9800, 400 bales of Khanewal were sold at Rs 9700, 600 bales of Haroonabad were sold at Rs 9600, 400 bales of Faqeer Wali were sold at Rs 9600, 800 bales of Fort Abbas were sold at Rs 9600 to Rs 9650, 400 bales of Mian Wali were sold at RS 9550 and 400 bales of Yazman Mandi were sold at Rs 9450.

He told that rate of cotton in Sindh was in between Rs 8600 to Rs 9500 per maund. The rate of cotton in Punjab is in between Rs 8800 to Rs 9600 per maund. He also told that Phutti of Sindh was sold in between Rs 3200 to Rs 4400 per 40 kg. The rate of Phutti in Punjab is in between Rs 3500 to Rs 5100 per 40 Kg.

The rate of Banola in Sindh was in between Rs 1300 to Rs 1700 while the price of Banola in Punjab was in between Rs 1650 to Rs 2000. The rate of cotton in Balochistan is in between Rs 8600 to Rs 9200 while the rate of Phutti is in between Rs 4200 to Rs 5000.

The Spot Rate Committee of the Karachi Cotton Association has increased the spot rate by Rs 100 per maund and closed it at Rs 9600 per maund. The Polyester Fiber was available at Rs 168 per Kg.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020

Comments

Comments are closed.