LAHORE: The Spot Rate Committee of the Karachi Cotton Association on Friday decreased the spot rate by Rs 300 per maund and closed it at Rs 20,000 per maund. Polyester Fiber was available at Rs 367 per kg.

The local cotton market remained bearish and the trading volume remained low.

Cotton Analyst Naseem Usman told Business Recorder that government has set a cotton crop production target of 10.8 million bales for the upcoming season of FY2024-25, aiming at revitalising a sector that has faced challenges in recent years.

Cotton, a linchpin of Pakistan’s textile industry, has struggled to meet production goals, consistently falling below 10 million bales in recent years. In FY2023-24, the total cotton output was 8.336 million bales which was over 72 percent more than FY2022-23’s production. Notably, in 2022 floods wreaked havoc on the cotton supply and production.

The Federal Committee on Agriculture (FCA), chaired by Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain, convened here to assess Rabi season crop production and set targets for the upcoming Kharif season 2024/25, with hopes pinned on sufficient water and fertilizer availability to support a bumper crop.

Naseem also said that in terms of pricing, cotton rates in both Sindh and Punjab ranged from Rs 19,500 to Rs 21,500 per maund, while Phutti prices in Punjab were observed between Rs 9,500 and Rs 10,000 per 40 kg.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024