MULTAN: Panic buying was witnessed on the cotton market on Friday amid growing fear of short crop and its expected exports on a large scale.

Cotton broker Syed Mudabir Shah said that sudden unusual increase of up to 10 US cents in the price of Indian cotton within 72 hours was witnessed while on other hand it has also now been clear that Indian spinning mill owners want to purchase at least 50,000 bales from Pakistan through exporters after Eidul Fitr.

Usually the increase in Indian cotton market is between three to five cents but during the last three days it has been reached 10 cents, he said.

The exporters have become active to make deals for Indian sipping mills and the local cotton market now is running on a demand and supply basis.

The demand is more against the short supply and the spinning mill owners want to meet their near-future demand as during the last 10 days of Ramazan the process of delivery and payment becomes somehow tough.

He said that due to the early sowing the arrival of new cotton crop in Pakistan is two-and-a-half months earlier as compared to India and other cotton-growing countries.

The prices of phutti (seed cotton) increased with improving arrivals. Deals of 5,600 maunds of phutti took place across the country, of which 4,800 maunds were from Sindh and 800 maunds from Punjab.

The price of phutti in Hasilpur was Rs3424, Khanewal Rs3400, Bure­wala Rs3360, Chichawatni Rs3300, Khanewal Rs­­3180, Arifwala Rs3100, Pakpattan Rs2850, Degree Rs3300, Sanghar Rs3325, Tando Allah Yar Rs3200, Badin Rs3350 and Thatta Rs3375.

The KCA kept its spot rates unchanged at Rs5,600 per maund.

Major deals on the ready counter were: 400 bales from Tando Adam at Rs6050, 600 bales Sanghar at Rs6000, 400 bales Mirpur Khas at Rs6000/6050, 400 bales Hyderabad at Rs6025 and 200 bales Shahdadpur at Rs5975.

The deals of old crop included: 800 bales from Kasuwal at Rs5000/5100, 700 bales Chichawatni at Rs5000, 400 bales Burewala at Rs5000/5100, 1700 bales Chani Goth at Rs5700, 1800 bales Rahim Yar Khan at Rs5700/5800, 800 bales Rohri at Rs5000 and 9100 bales were sold out by the Trading Corporation of Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2016