KARACHI: The bullish trend was witnessed in the rate of cotton in the local cotton market during the last week because local textile and spinning mills took interest in buying due to which the rate of cotton increased by Rs 200 to Rs 300 per maund. Cotton and other crops affected by water shortage in Sindh province. Farmers are advised to be cautious from rains.

In Sindh the rate of Phutti increased by Rs 200 to Rs 300 per 40 Kg because ginning factories were fast starting their operations and Phutti was dispersed among them. In Sindh 65 ginning factories had started their operations partially. Many ginners had stopped ginning partially because of increase in the prices of Phutti and shortage of supply. On the other hand Phutti of Sindh is going to the factories of Punjab and the supply of Phutti is gradually increasing in Punjab due to which 15 ginning factories are running their operations but record increase is witnessed in the rate of Phutti in Punjab.

Three ginning factories were partially operational in Balochistan. Textile mills were involved in buying according to their needs while many big textile groups were also taking interest in buying. The reason behind is that it is expected that rainy spell is going to be started in next few days.

Another reason is Eidul Azha due to which rates of transport are increased. According to the survey, there is acute shortage of water in the cotton growing areas of Sindh and it is expected that cotton crop will be affected.

The farmers of Sindh are complaining to the Sindh government regarding water shortage while agriculture minister Sindh is himself complaining that there is a water shortage in Sindh. However, it is expected that raining season will start soon. According to the textile importers, textile mills are importing cotton from abroad due to low cotton production. Up till now agreements for the import of 5 lac bales of cotton have been signed.

Due to the extraordinary decline of 56 lac bales in the last season, Pakistan had to import huge amount of cotton. The rate of cotton in Sindh is in between Rs 13,250 to Rs 13,350 per maund. The rate of Phutti is in between Rs 5,800 to Rs 6,100 per 40 kg. The rate of Banola is in between Rs 2000 to Rs 2100 per maund.

The rate of cotton in Punjab is in between Rs 13,500 to Rs 13,800 per maund while the rate of Phutti is at record level of Rs 6,000 to Rs 6,700 per 40 Kg. The rate of Banola is in between Rs 2,100 to Rs 2,200 per maund. The rate of cotton in Balochistan is in between Rs 13,350 to Rs 13,400 per maund while the rate of Phutti is in between Rs 6,100 to Rs 6,200 per 40 Kg.

The Spot Rate Committee of the Karachi Cotton Association increased the spot rate by Rs 200 per maund and closed it at Rs 13100 per maund. Chairman Karachi Cotton Brokers Forum Naseem Usman told that over all bullish trends was seen in the rate of international cotton markets.

The fluctuation was seen in the Rate of Promise (Waday Ka Bhao) of New York Cotton. The rate was in between 86.50 cent to 88 cent per pound. According to the weekly USDA export report exports increased by 22% in which Pakistan was on top of the list with 24000 bales.

The bullish trend continued in the markets of Brazil and Central Asian States. In India the rate of cotton increased by Rs 1200 per candy because of increase in buying by the textile mills. Cotton Corporation of India has increased the rate of cotton by Rs 100 to Rs 300 per candy for the year 2019-20 and 2020-21.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Agriculture Jamshed Iqbal Cheema while addressing a press conference in Multan said government is taking steps for the revival of cotton crop. The government is allocating Rs 1 billion for the reconstruction of Pakistan Central Cotton Committee. Government will start dialogue with All Pakistan Textile Mills Association for the payments of Rs 3 billion of PCC which was pending since 2017. APTMA should play its role for research and development of cotton crop. Government has allocated Rs 7 billion in the head of extension services for guidance of cotton farmers. The demand of textile industry is 16 million bales and in order to fulfill this demand government is working on new areas of cotton cultivation.

Director, Central Cotton Research Institute (CCRI) Multan Thursday urged the farmers to beware of upcoming rainy season and take precautionary measures in advance to meet all the crop management compulsions to keep cotton safe from adverse impact.

In a statement issued here, Dr Zahid Mahmood said farmers who have not applied fertilizers should do so at suitable time and as per need before the rains expected next week. Farmers should also apply water keeping in view rains possibility and if required must also perform hoeing before rains. Farmers should also make arrangements to drain out rainwater in case of its accumulation. He said that rain water must not remain accumulated in field for more than 24 hours. He said that to save crop from pests, farmers can apply pesticides but only when it becomes unavoidable. He said that Met office has forecast monsoon rains from July 12 to 25. A simple step can save farmers from big losses, Dr. Zahid said. Farmers should perform pest scouting twice a week and fix hollow cone nozzle on spray machine to apply spray.

Pakistan is all set to sign the Transit Trade Agreement (TTA) with Uzbekistan in Tashkent on July 15, paving the way for having access for its products to the 90 billion dollars market of five Central Asian States. The signing of TTA will be the beginning of Pakistan's policy to have regional connectivity.

Razak disclosed that Pakistan will provide off-dock facilities to Uzbek traders at Bin Qasim and Gwadar ports for reaching the markets of Middle East, India, Africa and other countries and in return Uzbekistan will provide off-dock facilities to Pakistan in its border area adjoining Afghanistan. From there, Pakistan will be able to reach markets of other Central Asian Republics. He said some of the Central Asian Republics have approached Pakistan for transit trade and Free Trade Agreements.

However, Pakistan is currently focusing on Uzbekistan for the Transit Trade agreement and FTA. He said Uzbekistan is the gateway to important Central Asian Republics such as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. More importantly, Uzbekistan is also the gateway for the Russian federation.

The exports of textile commodities witnessed an increase of 18.85 percent during the first eleven months of the current fiscal year. The textile exports were recorded at $13748.296 million in July-May (2020-21) against the exports of $11567.400 million in July-May (2019-20), showing growth of 18.85 percent, according to latest data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

The textile commodities that contributed in trade growth included knitwear, exports of which increased from $2572.991 million last year to $3414.300 million during the current year, showing growth of 32.70 percent. Likewise, the exports of yarn (other than cotton yarn) increased by 20.24 percent, from $24.048 million to $28.915 million whereas, exports of bed wear increased by 24.60 percent from $1984.502m to $2472.782 million.

The exports of towels increased by 28.54 percent, from $652.351 million to $838.507 million; exports of tents, canvas and tarpaulin grew by 15.54 percent, from $87.975 million to $101.649 million; readymade garments by 14.35 percent, from $2367.263 million to $2706.867 million; made-up articles, excluding towels and bead wear by 23.43 percent, from $548.002 million to $676.372 million while the exports of art, silk and synthetic textile increased from $290.525 to $326.150 million, showing growth of 12.26 percent, cotton (carded or combed) by 3.17 percent, from $0.063 million to $0.065. The export of cotton clothes also increased by 0.97 percent; from $1699.702 million to $1716.216 million.

Meanwhile, the commodities that witnessed negative growth in trade included raw cotton, exports of which decreased by 96.51 percent, from $17.002 million to $0.593 million; cotton yarn decreased by 1.60 percent, from $910.577 million to $896.034 million. The exports of all other textile materials also increased by 38.18 percent, from $412.399 million to $569.846 million, the PBS data revealed.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021

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