KARACHI: Slight imp­rove­ment in phutti (seed cotton) arrival helped the cotton market witness modest trading activity on Tuesday as a number of small lot deals were finalised.

Acute shortage of irrigation water at the sowing stage has impacted the cotton crop adversely in lower Sindh. The flow of phutti from the region has yet to gain momentum.

Moreover, the quality of phutti is also reported not to be good.

Due to sustained demand in front of short supply, cotton prices remained on the higher side. Market analysts believe in coming days price would further rise as the demand and supply issue continues.

Meanwhile, the spinning industry is complaining against the imposition of customs duty and additional duty on import of cotton. Fears are being expressed that the move will deprive the industry from raw material — particularly when the local cotton crop has suffered badly due to water shortage.

Short supply of phutti has also pushed up ginners’ operational costly. In a meeting held on Monday in Tando Adam, a consensus was reached that ginners would avoid competing with each other so that phutti prices would remain under control.

There was slight fall in phutti prices as Sindh variety was quoted in the range of Rs3,800 to Rs4,200 while Punjab variety was done between Rs3,700 to Rs4,200.

The world leading cotton markets generally closed firm on higher demand and exports.

The Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) spot rates were firm at overnight level at Rs8,200 per maund.

The following deals were reported to have changed hands on ready counter: 400 bales, station Shahdadpur, at Rs8,400; 200 bales, Kotri, at Rs8,375; 100 bales, Chichawatni, at Rs8,400; 200 bales, Vehari, at Rs8,400; 200 bales, Burewala, at Rs8,350 to Rs8,425; 200 bales, Mongi Bangla, at Rs8,350; and 200 bales, Samandari, at Rs8,350.

Published in Dawn, July 11th, 2018