MULTAN: The cotton market was dull on Saturday as buyers and sellers remained on the sidelines. The Karachi Cotton Association kept its spot rate unchanged.

Cotton brokers expected that proper cotton season would start after Eid and activities in the market would become normal.

The government should announce support prices for cotton and start buying the commodity on this price through the Trading Corporation of Pakistan, they said.

They said more rains were being predicted from the next week and more care was required for the crop.

They said it was the first time the ginners who made functional their factories for early cotton were facing financial losses due to unstable prices.

He said cotton growers were worried about low prices as they have to face heavy financial losses if the price was below Rs3,500 per 40 kilograms.

They said the government should announce the cotton support price at Rs3,500.

On Saturday, the price of phutti was Rs3,250 in Umer Kot, Rs3,275 in Badin, Rs3,225 in Thatta and Rs3,200 in Degree.

Major deals on the ready counter were: 570 bales from Rahim Yar Khan at Rs6,875 per maund (around 37kg), 200 bales from Mirpur Khas at Rs6,600, 200 bales from Tando Adam at Rs6,550, and 200 bales from Shahdadpur at Rs6,525.

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2017