KARACHI: The cotton market remained in the doldrums on Friday as spinners and value-added textile sector differed over the issue of duty on cotton yarn imports from India.

The spinners are currently facing cotton yarn dumping from India and are urging the government to impose import duty. Textile ancillary industry, however, is opposing such a move.

Floor brokers said the proceeding on the cotton market remained devoid of activity as leading spinners were reluctant to enter into any deal at this juncture when they are holding huge stocks of unsold cotton yarn.

Brokers believe that the market would be brisk and prices would be much higher if there had not been flood of cotton yarn from across the border.

The New York cotton market recovered previous losses where all future contracts ended with handsome gains.

The Karachi Cotton Association’s spot rates were firms at overnight level and only two transactions were reported to have changed hands on ready counter: 200 bales, Haroonabad, at Rs6,900; and 400 bales, Lodhran, at Rs7,000.