Seed cotton (Kapas/Phutti) in Sindh has been mostly sold out for the current season (2016/2017), but also fixed in Punjab from Rs 3400 to Rs 3750 per 40 Kgs on Thursday by the Karachi cotton Association (KCA). Lint prices in Sindh were generally reported to be prevailing from Rs 6400 to Rs 7000 per maund (37.32 Kgs) on Thursday, according to the quality. In the Punjab, lint prices were said to have ranged from Rs 6500 to Rs 7000 per maund in a tight market.
In ready sales on Thursday, 400 bales of cotton from Bahawalpur sold at Rs 6980 per maund. Later, 400 bales from Kot Safzal sold at Rs 7000 while 7400 bales from Khanewal also sold at Rs 7000 per maund ready basis. Two hundred bales from Bahawalpur sold at Rs 6530 per maund, 200 bales from Harunabad sold at Rs 7000 per maund, 200 bales from Bahawalpur sold at 7150 per maund while another 200 bales from Bahawalpur also sold at Rs 7250 per maund on credit basis.
This season (August 2016/July 2017) the total output of cotton in Pakistan is expected total 10.8 million bales (155 kgs) on an ex-gin basis. It is now believed that only about 50,000 to 600,000 bales of unsold cotton are left unsold in market from the current season.
Some interest in imports is also reported for global cottons of different origins, even though the suppliers are reportedly quoting higher rate. Sowing of new crop cotton in Sindh is likely to start for new season soon (August 2017/July 2018), but sowing in Punjab will start of next month (15 April, 2017 or later)
On the global economic and financial front, the pursuance and progress of growth and development have been blurred. Earlier, there were fears that with the accession of Donald Trump as the new American president many problems of global economic significance would crop up due to his off the cuff remarks on the tweeter. Fear of disruption of global manufacturing and trade appeared poised to throw the entire global trade and manufacturing system in disarray. However, the Dow Jones Industrial average reeled a phenomenal 21,115.55 points approaching the weekend. The business sentiment around the world is still on the high side and the collapse in global economics has not yet entered centre page.
America and Europe are still trading mostly normally, despite the Brexit anxiety hanging over their heads. The dare and do protectionist pronouncements of Donald Trump are capable of backfiring but yet the Atlantic trade is still being conducted normally. According to one analyst, the global economy is pretty big and wide and should continue without any disconcerting advice from the United Sates. Within the Euro zone, both financial and economic interactions are seen as quite deep-rooted and relevant to all the component countries and the growing rightist proclivity and rising rightism.
The global economic direction is presently poised at a crossroads will no knowledge where the global socio-economic movement is heading. However, the recent resilience in the movement of the global economy provides some measure of hope.
In this regard, we might hopefully avoid the 1930 Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act which reportedly triggered trade wars that led to the darkest period of human economic history, namely resulted into the Great Depression. To improve this state of affairs when Donald Trump quoted that the United States is suffering economic downturn because America is still showing a piddle growth of one percent against China's seven percent and India's eight percent during the previous year (2016). Trump reminded the Americans that too many Americans have lost their jobs over the past several years by importing goods from China, Vietnam and India.
While Dow Jones Index recorded its eleventh straight day of record gains at midweek, leading investor Warren Buffet was reportedly upbeat on economic growth in America. In conclusion, the global socio-political and economic sectors continue to show enormous uncertainty regarding their future.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2017