KARACHI: With the arrival of phutti (seed cotton) gaining pace, buying interest for new crop (2019-20) is picking up momentum with each passing day.

Trading resumed on overnight steady flow of buying, with prices for new crop steady at Rs8,450 per maund for Sindh variety and Rs8,550 per maund for Punjab quality.

As per the Pakistan Central Cotton Committee (PCCC) figures, the country could not meet the sowing target for 2019-20 cotton season and stood at 95.4 per cent. However, overall there is an improvement of 14.3pc in cotton cultivation area over the previous year’s target and this could help the country harvest a larger cotton crop over the previous year, the PCCC added.

The PCCC also said that pest incidences of whitefly and pink bollworm were reported in Sindh. In Punjab there have been reports of some pest incidences of whitefly, Jassid, thrips and pink bollworm in some cotton growing districts.

Meanwhile, a meeting of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Shabbar Zaidi with oil expellers ended on positive note. According to sources, the FBR chief has promised to review the imposition of sales tax on cottonseed oilcake.

The current spell of rains in Punjab particularly in cotton growing districts is beneficial and experts believe there is also need of rains in Sindh cotton belts for achieving higher yield. On the global front, Indian cotton moved higher by Rs100 per candy (356kg) while New York and Chinese cotton closed easy. The Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) spot rate were steady at overnight level at Rs8,300 per maund.

The following deals were reported to have changed hands on ready counter: 2,400 bales, station Tando Adam, at Rs8,450; 1,400 bales, Sanghar, at 8,400-8,450; 600 bales, Kotri, at Rs8,400-8,450; 1,300 bales, Chichawatni, at Rs8,530-8,575; and 200 bales, Haroonabad, at Rs8,550.

Published in Dawn, July 19th, 2019