October 17, 2003	Friday	Sha'aban 20, 1424

FAISALABAD, Oct 16: The local cotton yarn market is virtually being run by speculators while the genuine buyers belonging to Faisalabad, Toba Tek Singh, Jhang, and other adjoining districts and towns prefer to stay away from the markets because of high prices of cotton yarn. During a visit to the market on Thursday, it was observed that the local cotton yarn market was still bullish and speculators were minting money while the yarn merchants, powerloom owners, owners of weaving factories and dyeing units, exporters and hosiery manufacturers did not turn up for business transactions waiting for some miracle to bring the yarn prices down.

No visible change in the prices of cotton and polyester yarn was witnessed on Thursday. Activities in grey-cloth, cotton fabrics and other yarn and cloth items are also reported to be at standstill due to poor turn out of buyers.

A group of exporters talking to this correspondent complained that no government agency had come to rescue them from this abnormal increase in the cotton yarn and polyester yarn prices, which had literally pushed them to walls.

Chairman, Pakistan Yarn Merchants Association, Muhammad Ashraf Gandhi, said he had sent an SOS to the government. He said that the key to solution of the present crisis lies with the government, which should restrict the export of raw yarn and ensure its availability as per demand and requirements of the domestic market.

He claimed that the spinners were exporting cotton and polyester yarn without any restriction, which could create shortage of yarn in the domestic market throwing the local industry in deep crisis.

The chairman, All Pakistan Cloth Exporters Association, Ahmad Kamal, termed the current price-hike of cotton yarn as detrimental to export target of $12 billion for current year.