KARACHI: Cotton prices came slightly under pressure on Saturday as buyers slowed down activity. How­ever, phutti (seed-cotton) arrivals remained on the higher side.

After having sold almost half of their crop, growers do not seem to be in a hurry to dispose of their remaining stocks.

Spinners have already purchased around 1.1 million more bales over the last year. Panic buying had been observed mainly due to quality issues. The current heatwave in Punjab has badly affected growth of the crop.

Due to brisk buying throughout the week cotton prices stood high between Rs6,100-6,300 for Punjab variety and Rs5,600-6300 for Sindh variety per maund. Similarly, phutti rates were also high at Rs2,600-3,050 per 40kg for Sindh and Rs2,900-3,150 for Punjab quality per 40kg.

According to reports coming from Punjab cotton fields, standing crop in district Bahawalnagar has suffered badly due to hot weather and growers are not in a position to take any measure.

Reports suggest spinners have so far booked around 1.1 million bales from the US, Brazil, Central Asian Countries and Africa. How­ever, the ban on cotton im­­ports from India continues.

The Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) left its spot rates unchanged at the overnight level.

The following major deals were reported to have chan­ged hands on the ready counter: 2,000 bales, Khair­pur, at Rs6,200 to Rs6,250; 2,000 bales, Rohri, at Rs6,200 to Rs6,300; 2,000 bales, Saleh Pat, at Rs6,300; 1,000 bales, Ghotki, at Rs6,300; 800 bales, Nawab­shah, at Rs6,050; 1,000 bales, Rajanpur, at Rs6,300; 1,600 bales, Mian Channu, at Rs6,175 to Rs6,250; 1,600 bales, Baha­walpur, at Rs6,250; 1,200 bales, Khan­e­­wal, at Rs6,200 to Rs6,225; 1,200 bales, Har­o­onabad, at Rs6,100 to Rs6,150; 600 bales, Yazman Mandi, at Rs6,200; and 800 bales, Ahmedpur, at Rs6,250.

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2017