Ginners facing tough time because unsold cotton stock is not in demand after the spread of coronavirus, some dealers informed on phone on Saturday. The official spot rate was unchanged at Rs8800, dealers said.
Rate of seed cotton per 40kg in Sindh low quality was at Rs2800, while the best quality was unchanged at Rs4100, and in the Punjab prices of low quality were at Rs2800 while the fine type was available at Rs4600, they said.
In Sindh, Binola prices per maund were at Rs1400-1800, in Punjab rates were at Rs1650-1800, they said and the rate of polyester fibre was at Rs167 per kg, they added.
The whole textile sector is in deep crisis due to unavailability of basic requirements, cotton analyst Naseem Usman said. The ginners shared the same ideas and said that the ginners were disturbed as mills were on the sidelines due to prevailing crisis in the world, he added.
The big issue is unsold cotton stock, whish is not in demand and causing huge losses, other experts. According to the International Cotton Advisory Committee, the impact of COVID-19 on the cotton and textile industry is uncertain, but the sector has been impacted along with the general economy.
Reuters adds: ICE cotton futures rose 2% on Friday helped by positive federal exports data while a surge in oil prices added support, but the contract was still on its way to a fourth straight week of losses.
Cotton contract for May settled up 0.99 cent, or 2%, at 50.98 cents per lb. after recovering from 11-year lows on Thursday. It traded within a range of 49.67 and 51.14 cents a lb. Total futures market volume fell by 15,623 to 37,235 lots. Data showed total open interest fell 3,266 to 195,507 contracts in the previous session.

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The KCA Official Spot Rate for Local Dealings in Pakistan Rupees
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                     FOR BASE GRADE 3 STAPLE LENGTH 1-1/16"
                    MICRONAIRE VALUE BETWEEN 3.8 TO 4.9 NCL
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Rate              Ex-Gin   Upcountry   Spot Rate    Spot Rate    Difference
                    For      Price     Ex-Karachi  Ex. KHI. As   Ex-Karachi
                                                   on  03-04-2020
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37.324 kg         8,800       160         8,960        8,960            NIL
Equivalent
40 kgs            9,431       171         9,602        9,602            NIL
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