KARACHI, July 1: Cotton market on Tuesday resisted fresh decline as leading ginners held on to their positions followed by reports that spinners are still short of their annual consumption needs.

What seems to have encouraged them to hold on to their current crop positions was the release of the official import figures of lint from various sources for the last six months ending June 30, 2003, brokers said.

According to figures, spinners and mills had imported about 0.4m bales of lint and not widely rumoured figure of 0.8m bales, which could cause flutters on the market keeping in view the supply and demand factors.

“Spinners are short of their annual lint demand and most of them are relying on the supply of new crop to bridge the supply gaps,” analysts said adding “forward deals in new crop from the lower Sindh ginneries for delivery onward from July 15, point to the factual position about the stocks of lint held by the spinners and the mills.”

Away from the local market, ginners also making efforts to buy phutti according to their parity levels of lint as spinners are not inclined to bid above Rs2,400 for the fine lots of the current crop and Rs2,250 for the Sindh new crop.”

The fall in phutti prices to Rs925 per 40 kg from Rs1,000 during the last couple of sessions reflects that ginners have managed to tilt the price line in their favour.

“Having a little holding capacity growers mostly sell their stocks at the prevailing prices and that is what is actually happening in the cotton belt for the last couple of sessions,” brokers said.

However, phutti prices are still ruling high around Rs925 to Rs950 per 40 kg as compared to official procurement rate of Rs850, they said.

Meanwhile, reports coming from the lower Sindh cotton belt indicate that some of the ginners from the central Punjab cotton belt are buying phutti from the growers to resume their seasonal operations after mixing it with the local produce.

There was no change in the official rates, which stayed firm at the overnight level of Rs2,400 per maund.

Ready offtake was light as till late in the evening a deal of 400 bales, new crop from a Sultanabad ginnery was sold at Rs2,350 per maund without 15 per cent sales tax.

Another deal of 200 bales, K-68 current crop from Rohri was reported at Rs2,400 per maund.