MULTAN: Trading on the cotton market on Thursday remained slow as buyers and sellers stayed away – mostly due to loadshedding at textile units.

The Karachi Cotton Association kept its spot rates unchanged at overnight level.

According to Mudabir Shah, a Multan-based cotton broker, the market is slow since the government has announced 10-hour loadshedding for the textile sector.

He said that about 38 per cent textile mills have no alternative arrangements to power up their units.

“The consumption of cotton has been reduced automatically as these mills are functional for only 14 hours daily,” he remarked.

He said that about 200,000 bales of the current crop are available in the market out of which 20pc to 30pc is of good quality.

“Cotton crop will start arriving in Punjab in the first week of June and some ginning factories in Burewala, Vehari, Sahiwal and Chichawatni will become functional before Eid,” he added.

The following deals were reported to have changed hands on the ready counter: 655 bales, Bhakkar, at Rs7475; 1500 bales and 200 bales, Rahim Yar Khan, at Rs7,000 and Rs7,200 respectively; 200 bales, Haroo­nabad, at Rs6775 and 600 bales, Lodhran, at Rs6,975.

Published in Dawn, May 18th, 2018