MULTAN: Trading activity on the cotton market slowed down owing to lack of buying interest from spinners as ginners were reluctant to decrease prices on Wednesday.

Cotton experts said the ginners are not ready to reduce prices despite downward trend in the international market as they believe that the local currency will depreciate in the coming days.

Meanwhile, cotton cultivation in Balochistan is underway at large scale although the provincial government is yet to announce its target area for cultivation.

However, experts anticipate that the province will cultivate around 250,000 acres in Lasbela, Khuzdar and Jaffarabad. They said that last year, the 40kg phutti (seed cotton) from Balochistan were selling at a premium of Rs500 compared to Punjab and Rs400 as compared to Sindh as the province produces best quality cotton in the country due to less contamination. Karachi Cotton Association kept its spot rate unchanged at Rs8,650.

The following deals were reported to have changed hands on the ready counter: 800 bales, station Khanpur, at Rs8,850; 200 bales, Sadiqabad, at Rs9,000; 400 bales, Alipur, at Rs8,950; and 740 (low quality) bales, Khanewal, at Rs7,725.

Published in Dawn, May 16th, 2019