Raw cotton at record high of Rs13,000

KARACHI: Raw cotton skyrocketted to a record high of Rs13,000 per maund for the second time in two weeks after cotton prices struck another new record high at International Commodity Exchange (ICE), dealers said.
Shakeel Ahmad, a cotton analyst, told The News that around 3,000 bales of cotton were sold at an all-time high of Rs13,000 per maund on cash in various cotton growing areas of the country due to short supply of higher quality cotton.
“Out of 1,212, 212 ginning factories from across the country are busy in producing cotton bales and around 60,000 bales of cotton are reaching the domestic market daily, but the demand for the commodity gained as thousands of bales are being exported on account of good prices on weekly basis,” said Ahmad.
He said that the spot rates of the Karachi Cotton Association would definitely rise on Friday following a sharp rise in cotton prices in the local and international markets.
However, spot rates of the Karachi Cotton Exchange (KCE) remained steady at Rs11,500 per maund and Rs12,350 per 40kg for average-quality lint.
Seedcotton (Phutti) was sold in the range of Rs4,900 and Rs5,000 per 40kg in Sindh due to lower quality produce, while ginners in Punjab made deals, varying from Rs5,000 to Rs5,400 per 40kg because of higher quality produce.
Moreover, raw cotton for March and May contracts skyrocketed by 5.29 cents and 4.28 cents to hit an all-time high of $1.80 and $1.77 per pound, respectively, at the International Commodity Exchange (ICE), New York amid higher demand for ginned cotton.
Meanwhile, the country’s cotton sales swelled to 12,800 bales of raw cotton (170kg each), including 3,000 bales from upper Sindh; 600 bales from Nawabshah; 800 bales from Shahdadpur, varying in between Rs10,500 and Rs11,000 per maund, another 1,800 bales from Rahim Yar Khan; 800 bales each from Haroonabad and Dera Ghazi Khan; 400 bales each from Kabirwala, Garh Maharaja, Fort Abbas, Faqirwali and Lodhran; and 3,000 bales in mill-to-mill deals, ranging in between Rs10,500 and Rs13,000 per maund.

(Source: http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=30498&Cat=3&dt=2/11/2011)