February 19, 2002	Tuesday	Zilhaj 6, 1422

KARACHI, Feb 18: Modest activity was witnessed on the cotton market on Monday as pent-up mill demand figured prominently, but its main thrust was on quality lots from the uppers Sindh ginneries.

About 10,000 bales changed hands as group of leading spinners tried to grab the floating stock of fine lots to cover their forward export sales of higher counts of cotton.

The interesting feature was that bulk of the business was finalized on one-month credit basis, but at much higher rate of Rs1,700 per maund.

Floor brokers said ginners appeared to be more inclined to sell their unsold stocks to spinners even on forward business for reasons not immediately known, but some ginners claim the attractive bait of higher prices was one of the chief reasons behind the steady business.

Market sources speculate a leading group of ginners and spinners seem to be working in tandem to keep the TCP away for bidding against quality lint.

“Both are to benefit from this unwritten deals, the former will get a fair price to further cut their losses suffered by them on phutti account, while the latter will ensure the availability of fine quality lint,” they added.

Ginners may have some difference with the TCP procurement officers on the purchasing mechanism, but there appears to be no logic to sell well below the rates offered by the TCP.

The TCP is buying lint cotton, which conforms to its quality standards, at Rs1,855 per maund, while the highest forward rates paid by the spinners was Rs1,700.

Meanwhile, reports coming from the southern Punjab cotton belt say that a section of ginners met in Rahimyar Khan on Monday and urged the TCP to lift export quality lots, already packed according to its standards from the unsold stocks of about 2 million bales, rather than from the fresh lots.

But TCP sources said they were in the market to support it and had so far purchased about 50,000 bales from those who were willing to offer their lots since its re-entry into the market about weeks before.

Ready offtake was relatively large totalling 10,000 bales, the following being some of the notable deals:

SINDH TYPE: 1,200 bales of Dharki and 1,000 bales each from Mirpur Mathelo, Gothki and Khairpur at Rs1.700 on one-month credit and 600 bales each from Dharki, Gothki, Mirpur mathelo and Khairpur at Rs1,675 on forward payment.

PUNJAB VARIETY: 200 bales of Bahawalpur at Rs1,525 and 400 bales of Vehari at Rs1,250.