KARACHI: Cotton prices remained under pressure on Tuesday due to lack of buying interest from spinners and higher imports of cotton. However, cotton prices in the world markets moved higher.

Floor brokers said that the market was expected to witness enthusiasm after a government’s decision to declare textile exports free from duty and taxes. However, there was hardly any change in the trading pattern.

In a recent meeting with business leaders, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar also assured them of giving incentives to textile industry so that exports could be doubled.

The higher imports of cotton was being reckoned to be a major factor for low buying interest but some brokers said that many spinners believed the arrival of new crop phutti (seed cotton) would be in time.

However, reports coming from cotton fields indicate that partial arrivals of phutti from lower Sindh would start coming from the middle of next month (June 2016). But even then phutti arrivals would only gain momentum when cotton crop matured in Punjab, brokers added.

Meanwhile, the participation by the Trading Corporation of Pakistan was witnessed and around 2,000 bales from 2014-15 crop were transacted at Rs5,885 per maund.

The Karachi Cotton Association cut its spot rates by Rs50, to Rs5,500 per maund. Major deals on the ready counter were: 400 bales from Shahdadpur (at Rs4,200 per maund), 400 bales Dera Ghazi Khan (Rs5,450) and 400 bales Chani Goth (Rs5,700) (conditional).

Published in Dawn, June 1st, 2016