Modest Trade Activity On Cotton Market

Modest Trade Activity On Cotton Market

A modest trading activity was seen on the cotton market on Saturday owing to slow demand by the mills and spinners, dealers said. The official spot rate was unchanged at Rs 5,550 dealers said. In the ready business, over 3000 bales of cotton changed hands between Rs 5400-5680, they said. Market sources said that leading mills had already finalised deals with the foreign producing countries, so that most of them did not take interest in local buying due to higher rates. Talking to media on Saturday, former Speaker of National assembly Syed Fakhar Imam has urged the government for immediate announcement of minimum support price of seed cotton (Phuthi) at Rs 3200 per 40 Kilogram, boosting cotton sowing and avoiding from decline in cotton acreage. Cotton analyst, Naseem Usman said that to bring stability in the rates of cotton, the Chairman of the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) held talks with Commerce Minister Khuram Dastgir Khan and demanded to announce minimum support price for seed cotton as early as possible. The demand for announcement of minimum support price for seed cotton was also backed by provincial Agriculture Minister of Punjab Dr Farroq Javad. According to reports, India has tightened rules for the sale of genetically-modified cotton seeds, in a move that will cap royalties for any new variety that the market’s sole supplier-US-based Monsanto Co-decides to develop and sell. Adds Reuters: Cotton futures rose on Friday as commodities markets were broadly higher and the cash market remained subdued. Cotton contracts for July settled up 0.6 cent, nearly 1 percent, at 61.67 cents per lb. It traded within a range of 61.07 and 62.07 cents a lb. Total futures market volume fell by 10,342 to 16,611 lots. Data showed total open interest gained 521 to 190,121 contracts in the previous session. The following deals reported: 1400 bales from Alipur at Rs 5550 to 5575, 866 bales from Bahawalpur at Rs 5680 (Conditional), 600 bales from Marrot at Rs 5250, 200 bales from Fazilpur at Rs 5500 and 200 bales from Layyah at Rs 5400, dealers said.