KARACHI, March 1: The Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) has accepted export contract for 5,000 bales of cotton from the highest bidder who offered 33.06 cents per lb, TCP sources said.

The price valuation committee of TCP on Friday, accepted the offer from American Commodity, USA who along with 14 other participants offered their bids for purchase of 10,000 bales.

However, the TCP’s valuation committee only accepted one bid of 5,000 bales for May shipment from American Commodity who had quoted 33.06 cents per lb.

The same bidder also made two other bids for 2000 bales at 32.70 cents per lb for April shipment and 3,000 bales at 32 cents for March shipment. The former bid proved to be second highest.

The third highest bid of 33 cents came from First Texas Trading Company, USA and the lowest at 26.77 cents per lb was offered by Baltaf of Turkey.

Sources said that the TCP on Thursday in total received 15 bids along with one from a local participant.

However, the local offer given by Crescent Ajooba despite being the highest at 34.25 cents per lb could not qualify as the TCP’s tender condition do not allow local participation.

In order to protect growers interest the government has asked the TCP to intervene in the market as and when necessary by procuring raw cotton from ginners at the rate of Rs1,855 per maund. Beside this the corporation also incurs additional cost in term of handling, storage and financial charges.

However, the bid accepted by the TCP at 33.06 cents indicates that the offer had been accepted at Rs1,650 per maund or 11 cents less than the procurement price of the corporation.

The depressed prices of raw cotton in the international market has made the TCP task more difficult and it is being feared by textile industry that such sales would ultimately result in accumulation of losses to the exchequer.