With decreasing supplies of good quality cotton from the current corp (August 2014/July 2015) remaining with the ginners, a further increase was seen in domestic cotton prices on Thursday. In fact, the price for the very meager seedcotton (kapas / phutti) remaining in the market in Sindh reportedly ranged from Rs 1,800 to Rs 2,400 per 40 kgs, while in the Punjab the seedcotton rates were said to have extended from Rs 2,000 to 2,700 per 40 kilogrammes, as per the quality.

Lint prices in Sindh were said to have ranged from Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,100 per maund (37.32 kgs) on Thursday while in the Punjab they extended from Rs 4,800 to Rs 5,200 per maund, as per quality.

The new crop (August 2015/July 2016) sowing has been delayed by two or three weeks due to continuing rains.

There were reports in the market that some needy mills have also booked imported cotton for nearby deliveries.

In the ready cotton market on Thursday, 200 bales from Noorpur sold at Rs 4,975 per maund (37.32 kgs), 400 bales each from Fort Abbas and Pakpattan and 500 bales from Hasilpur sold at Rs 5,000 per maund each, 1,000 bales from Sadiqabad sold at Rs 5,200 per maund, 400 bales from Burewala and 600 bales from Chichawatni both sold at Rs 5,225 per maund, while 400 bales from Dera Ghazi Khan was said to have been sold at Rs 5,250 per maund in a firm market.

According to the seedcotton (kapas / phutti) arrivals data issued by the Pakistan Cotton Ginners' Association (PCGA) for the current crop (August 2014 / July 2015), 14.785 million lint equivalent bales has arrived into the ginning factories till the 15th of March, 2015 from which the domestic mills have lifted 13.572 million bales. Exporters were said to have lifted 473,337 bales, while the ginners still continue to carry a relatively smaller quantity of 644,986 unsold bales against last year's (2013 / 2014) 851,320 bales.

It goes to the credit of the domestic textile industry which desperately tries to keep the spindles humming despite several odds like lack and interrupted supply of gas and power at a relatively high cost despite large fall in crude oil prices. Lack of law and order in several parts of the country remains disheartening.