KARACHI, Sept 5: Trading on the cotton market on Monday resumed on an easy note, as ginners continued to indulge in panic selling fearing further decline in prices. Floor brokers said reports that the phutti prices had dropped below the official support rates owing to absence of demand from Punjab ginners and selective buying by local mills had sent shock waves among the ginners and growers.

In the lower Sindh cotton belt, phutti prices are being quoted around Rs850 to Rs875 per maund, well below the official support price of Rs925 per 40 kg, and an identical fall in the central Punjab variety, brokers said.

They said that due to higher freight rates in the wake of post-POL price hike, Punjab ginners who were active buyers of lower Sindh phutti for the last about two months, were out of the market, leaving Sindh ginners in the field, who purchase phutti at the parity rates of lint, which in turn, unnerved the growers and the consequent panic selling.

The other bearish factor appears to be falling cotton yarn prices on the world market, which in turn, has curtailed the mill demand, sending bearish signal among the growers.

“Cotton trade is passing through an uncertain phase, the victim being the grower, who unlike the previous season, failed to get a fair price for his produce so far,” the brokers said.

It was a bearish beginning of the new season, as spinners and mills that had purchased a substantial quantity at higher rates from the TCP, may remain at disadvantage if the international prices did not improve.

Official spot rates were further lowered by Rs50 per maund from the weekend levels, but in physical trading some of the deals were finalized below them.

Ready offtake was large totalling about 8,000 bales, the following being some of the notable deals:

SINDH TYPE: 1,400 bales, Mirpurkhas at Rs2,050 to Rs2,085; 200 bales, Pithero at Rs2,050; 1,600 bales, Tando Adam at Rs2,075 to Rs2,130; 1,200 bales, Shadadpur at Rs2,100 to Rs2,150; and 400 bales, Sanghar at Rs2,085.