LAHORE: Despite the unexpected delay in sowing in most parts of the country due to adverse weather conditions, advance deals for the new cotton crop have started briskly.

At least 10 truckloads of new cotton crop were sold in a range of Rs10,000 to Rs11,000 per 40kg for delivery between May 5 and May 30 by some traders from Mirpur Khas, Hyderabad and Tando Bhago in Sindh.

Reports say a trader of Tando Bhago in Sindh sold two truckloads of cotton to a ginning factory in Chichawatni, Punjab, at Rs11,000 per 40kg for delivery between May 5 and 10. A Hyderabad trader sold four truckloads of cotton for Rs10,000 for delivery between May 20 and 30, and a Mirpur Khas businessman sold four truckloads of cotton for Rs10,500 per 40kg for delivery between May 20 to 30, reports add.

Cotton Ginners Forum Chairman Ihsanul Haq says advance deals for the new crop are also expected to be struck at much higher prices in the days to come.

He says that on the reports of the beginning of cotton picking in May, it is expected that the new cotton ginning season in the country will start in the first week of June.

Traditionally, he says, at the beginning of the new cotton ginning season in Punjab towns like Burewala and Chichawatani, the ginners mix new crops with the old ones to dispose of their old stock.

Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2024