Strong demand for cotton pushed prices to a seasonal high level.
Initially the cotton crop was hit by acute shortage of irrigation water which delayed sowing and now rains in Punjab and some parts of Sindh are hindering phutti picking.
As a result many ginning factories in Sindh have stopped operating because of higher moisture content in phutti.
In Punjab, some ginning units have temporarily stopped functioning due to short supply of phutti since cotton picking has temporarily halted owing rains.
As a result phutti prices in both Sindh and Punjab remained high. In Sindh the prices of phutti variated between 3,800 rupees to 4,100 rupees while in Punjab it was between 3,500 and 4,200 rupee per 40 kilogram.
According to market sources, so far around 0.3 million bales have been imported by spinners. Last season around three million bales were imported.
Meanwhile the governments decision to impose 2 per cent import duty on cotton and yarn from 15th of this month is expected to discourage imports as they will become costlier.
Lint prices raised to 8,300 per maund on ready deals indicating the upward trend would persist in coming days due to short supply of phutti and strong demand for cotton.
Source: Radio Pakistan