Cotton prices depressed on supply glut
KARACHI: Mounting selling pressure amid higher phutti (seed-cotton) arrivals from Punjab and increased availability of quality lots pushed lint prices further down on Thursday.
The spinners have adopted a cautious approach due to slow off-take of cotton yarn and fabric.
Calling it a crisis-like situation cotton analyst Naseem Usman said the local prices declined by up to Rs500 per maund in a week in sympathy of falling international prices of the commodity.
“This is definitely hurting growers’ interest because phutti prices have come down below the benchmark of Rs3,000 per 40kg,” he added.
The freight costs for the haulage of cotton have also increased substantially due to transportation of sacrificial animals from rural areas to urban dwellings.
The Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) further reduced its spot rates by another Rs100 to Rs6,100 per maund.