LAHORE: The Spot Rate Committee of the Karachi Cotton Association on Thursday increased the spot rate by Rs 100 per maund and closed it at Rs 17400 per maund. The market remained steady and the trading volume remained low.
Cotton analyst Naseem Usman while talking to Business Recorder told that price of Phutti of Sindh was traded from Rs 4500-7600 per 40 kilograms; Punjab’s Phutti attracted per 40 kilograms prices from Rs 6000 to Rs 7800. The Prime Quality Cotton was available at Rs 17500 per maund.
Similarly, Phutti from Balochistan was traded at Rs 6500 per 40 kilograms to Rs 8200 per 40 kilograms.
Cotton of Sindh was traded from Rs 13,500 to Rs 17000 per maund, Punjab’s cotton was traded from Rs 14,500 to Rs 17000 per maund and Balochistan’s cotton prices remained from Rs 16,000 per maund to Rs 16,500 per maund.
While Banola from Sindh was traded from Rs 1,400 to Rs 2,300 per maund, Punjab’s crop was traded from Rs 1,800 to Rs 2,400 per maund and Balochistan’s Banola was traded from Rs 1,700 to Rs 2,300 per maund, added Naseem Usman.
As many as 1000 bales of Dherki of Prime Mark was sold at Rs 18000 per maund, 706 bales of Dadu were sold at Rs 17500 per maund, 600 bales of Khan Pur were sold at Rs 17500 per maund, 500 bales of Mian Wali were sold at Rs 16000 per maund, 1000 bales of Marrot were sold at Rs 16000 per maund, 400 bales of Bahawalpur were sold at Rs 15650 per maund and 800 bales of Yazman Mandi were sold at Rs 15400 to Rs 15450 per maund.
The government has reportedly agreed, in principle, to supply gas to those textile units, which cannot operate without gas, well-informed sources told Business Recorder. The decision was taken at an internal meeting presided over by Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue, Shaukat Tarin.
Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar, Minister for Industries and Production Khusro Bakhtyar, and Advisor to the Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood also attended the meeting.
The sources said it was decided in the meeting that a list of those textile units be sought from the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma), which cannot operate without gas.
The sources said, presently, there are 126 textile units, which are neither being supplied full electricity for operation nor gas for processing.
Insiders claim that the gas companies were supplying gas to about 1,800 units, which does not fall in the category of export-oriented units.
Now, gas to some of them will be curtailed or disconnected to accommodate eligible textile units. The SNGPL is currently supplying up to 70 Mmcfd to the non-export processing industry including steel, ceramics, and glass.
This is not comprehensible as all along the export sectors were to be given priority given the extreme economic urgency of supporting the Balance of Payments.
The total consumption of captive and co-generation was 180 to 200 mmcfd and 160 mmcfd just before 15th December 2021.
The SNGPL and the Aptma agreed that 75 mmcfd gas will be provided for the winter months, which is about 35 percent of gas load, which is absolutely essential to maintain production without any thought of viability.
Those factories who in the past (prior to 2015) had generated steam from coal or fuel oil have restarted these boilers in order to keep production going and not default on export orders.
Factories that do not have full grid load and are waiting for extension of load. These total 129 cases where the main impediment is load beyond 5 MW. Despite the Nepra having allowed 7.5 MW, not a single load has been extended so far. Electronic sensitive machines that cannot run on grid power. Factories that rely on steam made from generator waste heat recovery boilers (cogeneration) for their dyeing plants/weaving and knitting machines.
Moreover, cotton production in the country during cotton season 2021-22 (October to September) is expected to be above 350 lakh bales, president of Indian Cotton Federation (ICF) J Thulasidharan said here on Sunday.
At the annual meeting of the Federation, he said the increase in minimum support price had encouraged farmers and helped maintain the area under cotton. It had also incentivised farmers to take up better crop management practices. On the export front too, the demand was robust. The challenges now were the need for fibre quality, proper grading, improved seed and initiatives to realize better yield. “It is important to address these issues at the earliest for a win-win situation for the Indian cotton farmer and the user Industry,” he said.
The next revolution should come only from increasing the yield. With the right initiatives, Indian farmers could reach a yield of 1,000 kg. “This should be the priority for all stakeholders and policymakers.”
Many brands in the US and Europe were forcing suppliers to go for sustainable tag and Indian cotton had not been recognized as sustainable. The Agricultural Ministry should take initiatives to bring out simple sustainable guidelines, which could be easily implemented by the Indian farmer.
The Indian textile industry saw good demand during COVID-19 because of the market for protective garments and later because of the market going up for garments and made ups.
The office-bearers of the Indian Cotton Federation for 2021-22 are: J. Thulasidharan (president), P Natraj and Adhitya Krishna Pathy (vice-presidents), and Nishant Asher (secretary).
The Spot Rate Committee of the Karachi Cotton Association on Thursday increased the spot rate by Rs 100 per maund and closed it at Rs 17400 per maund. Polyester Fiber was available at Rs 245 per kg.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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