KARACHI, July 21: Indian spinners have purchased around 10,000 cotton bales from Pakistan at 75 cents per lb for urgent delivery.

As enquiries were pouring in from Indian importers, the local prices of cotton rose by Rs100 to Rs4,100 per maund on Monday.

Higher raw cotton prices in India, which are ranging between 82 to 84 cents per lb, have forced Indian spinning industry to approach Pakistani cotton exporters to procure cotton at cheap rates.

Naseem Usman, cotton broker and analyst, told Dawn that if the current pace of booking by Indian spinners continued the local prices would go further higher that would have an adverse impact on the domestic textile industry.

According to market sources, Indian cotton traders have made excessive exports in the last season which has resulted into shortage of the commodity in their domestic market.

Last season Pakistani spinning industry imported around 2.2 million bales from India which cost the national exchequer Rs40 billion.

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