KARACHI: Cotton prices remained steady last week due to low trading volumes. Partial arrival of the new crop has already started, as five ginning factories have partially started functioning.
Acting Chief Minister of Punjab Syed Mohsin Naqvi has said that at present the condition of cotton crop is satisfactory. The concerned institutions are actively working to increase the production of cotton. He claimed that the target of cotton production would be achieved.
Zahid Mazhar, chairman of the Southern Zone of the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA), said that the textile industry in Sindh and Punjab is working at only 50% capacity due to gas shortage.
The Cotton Committee of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry has said that an increase in cotton production is imperative for the revival of the country's economy.
A ginning factory in Shahdadpur has signed a deal for 400 bales at Rs 20,200 per head for delivery from June 6 to June 10. It is expected that some ginning factories in Punjab and Sindh will start partially functioning soon. As of now, the price of new fruit is Rs 9,500 to Rs 10,200 per 40 kg, while the price of Banola is Rs 3,800 to Rs 4,200 per head.
As per details, the condition of cotton crop in Sindh and Punjab is satisfactory. According to experts, if the weather remains favourable, cotton production is expected to be around one crore bales, though the government had set a target of one crore twenty-seven lakh seventy thousand bales.
Special efforts are being made to increase the cotton crop in Punjab province. Cotton farmers are being encouraged in this regard and the government and related organizations are actively working for this. The Governor and caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab are taking interest in increasing the production of cotton. The enumerators had a stock of one lakh bales of old cotton. The rate of old cotton stock is ranging between Rs 1,7000 to Rs 21,000 per head. On the other hand, the textile sector is still in trouble and the situation is expected to worsen with each passing day.
A few days ago, PHMA and PRGMEA have jointly requested the government through an advertisement in the newspapers to immediately solve the problems of these sectors as their exports are badly affected. Rates range from Rs 17,000 to Rs 20,500 per head. The rate of footi is 6500 to 8000 rupees per 40 kg.
Cotton rates in Punjab range from Rs 19,000 to Rs 21,000 per head, while cotton rates range from Rs 8,000 to Rs 9,500 per 40 kg. The spot rate committee of the Karachi Cotton Association kept the cotton rate unchanged at Rs 20,000 per head.
Naseem Usman, president of the Karachi Cotton Brokers Forum, said there was overall volatility in the international cotton market. New York cotton futures traded at 86.70 US cents a pound after hitting a low of 80 cents before closing at 83.35 cents a pound. Cotton prices in India showed a bearish trend.
According to USDA's weekly export and sales report for the year 2022-23, one lakh thirty one thousand two hundred bales were sold.
China topped the list by purchasing 64,800 bales. Vietnam came second with 30,400 bales. Turkey bought 11 thousand 700 bales and stood third.
Bangladesh finished fourth by purchasing 9,000 bales. Pakistan bought 3,800 bales and ranked fifth. One lakh forty thousand five hundred bales were sold in the year 2023-24. Türkiye topped the list with 54,600 bales. Mexico was second with 24,000 bales. China bought 4,400 bales and stood third.
Meanwhile, Balochistan's textile industry is forced to operate at 50 per cent of its production capacity due to the large-scale shutdown of industries in Sindh and Balochistan due to gas shortage, Zahid Mazhar, president of the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association Southern Zone he said .
He demanded that the gas produced in Sindh and Balochistan should be supplied to these provinces first and after meeting the requirement of Sindh and Balochistan, additional gas should be supplied to other provinces. On the contrary, gas is being supplied to Punjab from both the provinces, which is against Article 158 of the Constitution.
Apart from this, a high-level meeting was held in the Chief Minister's Office under the chairmanship of Caretaker Chief Minister Punjab Mohsin Naqvi, in which the progress of cotton sowing was reviewed.
It was also decided in the meeting that cotton farmers will not face any shortage of essential commodities including water, seeds and fertilizers during the sowing of cotton.
Mohsin Naqvi stressed that we have to achieve the target of cotton sowing and complete maintenance of cotton fields is also necessary. He ordered the concerned officials to stop the incidents of water theft and assured the supply of essential water to the cotton fields.
He directed to take more effective action against those selling spurious medicines and seeds across the state. The proposal for survey of crops by satellite was discussed in the meeting.
However, the Prime Minister stressed on the importance of innovations in the textile sector to increase exports.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif asked exporters to bring innovation in the textile industry to increase exports, which would help the country earn valuable foreign exchange.
Addressing an event at the Textiles Expo, he said, "Despite various challenges, we have very strong, very forward-looking and very hardworking entrepreneurs who have slowly built up Pakistan's export culture.
Malik Sohail Talat, Coordinator of the Cotton Committee of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Pakistan appreciated the policies of the government regarding increasing the cotton production this year and the timely decision to fix the support price of cotton foots at Rs 8500 per 40 kg took. He said that the announcement of various incentive schemes for the farmers and vigorous publicity campaign by the Punjab government are commendable steps as increasing cotton production has become imperative to revive the economy.
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