PAKISTAN COTTON MARKET:
The local cotton market, Improved business trend was seen due to the increase in international price and less arrival of Phutti in local market. Buyers took interest in buying of quality of Phutti. Moreover, there are reports of an increase in demand for textile products internationally. Under the influence of increasing trends in the rate of cotton internationally the rate of cotton increased by Rs 150 per maund in the local cotton market. Fear of damage of cotton crop due to rains pushed the rates on higher side. KCA also increased rs.150 and touched the level of rs. 8500/maund.
Over all bullish trends was witnessed in international cotton market especially bullish trend was witnessed in the Rate of New York Cotton which was increased by 64 American cents. The reason behind increasing prices is uncertainty regarding production of cotton in Texas which is the biggest cotton producing state of America. On the other hand according to the weekly USDA report China is the biggest importer, while during the week exports of cotton increased by 51 percent.
The rate of cotton remained stable in Brazil, China and Argentina. Overall increasing trend was witnessed in the rate of cotton in India. It is expected that besides other crops the production of cotton will increase as a result of sufficient rains in Indian province of Gujrat which is the biggest producer of cotton in India. On the other hand Cotton Corporation of India is selling cotton from the stock to the local mills as well as Bangladeshi mills due to which there is uncertainty among the local Indian ginners.
The sowing in Pakistan was already poor as compared to the expectations because of low quality seeds. Thus, it is becoming difficult to estimate cotton production. Punjab government is claiming that 75 lac bales will be produced in the province while if 30 lac to 35 lac bales will be produced in Sindh then it is estimated that one crore 10 lac (11,000,000) bales will be produced in the country. However, according to the estimates of the private experts the cotton production will be around 87 lac bales.
The rate of cotton in Sindh is in between Rs 8275 to Rs 8400 per maund. The rate of Phutti in Sindh is in between Rs 3600 to Rs 3900 per 40 kg. The rate of cotton in Punjab is in between Rs 8550 to Rs 8750 per maund. the rate of Phutti in Punjab is in between Rs 3700 to 4100 per 40 kgs. Overall prices of new cotton were in the range of USC 60~63 Lbs. (8275¬8,750/ maund).
| Opening Of the Week | Closing Of the Week | Change | |
| Lowest | 59.00 | 60.00 | -1.00 |
| Highest | 62.00 | 63.00 | -1.00 |
CRUDE OIL:
Crude Oil prices opened at USD 42.89 with higher level as compared to last week closing figures.
In this week, crude oil price showed mix trend with minor fluctuation, hence closed on negative side at the end of week.
In last day of the week, Crude Oil price closed at USD 42.34 with decrease of USD 0.55 cents as of opening figure of week.
| Lowest | Highest | Change | |
| Price | 42.89 | 42.34 | 0.55 |
EXCHANGE RATE:
In last week values of Pak rupee appreciated slightly against US Dollar’s, other major currencies showed mix trend in both Inter bank and open markets.
At the end of week, Euro closed on a negative note with figure of 1.18 and British Pound also closed on negative note with figure 1.31 against USD.
| Selling | Buying | |
| LC Sight | 168.15 | 168.10 |
| LC 120 Days | 167.66 | 167.61 |
| Open Market | 166.42 | 170.29 |
NEW YORK COTTON FUTURE:
New York Cotton futures opened on higher levels on Monday as compare to previous week’s closing figures.
NYCF showed mix trend in this week and closed on positive side by the end of week.
At last day of the week, OCT 2020 closed at 63.73 with increase of 111 point.
At last day of the week, DEC 2020 closed at 64.28 with rose of 100 point.
At last day of the week, MAR 2021 closed at 65.20 with upsurge of 101 points
PAKISTAN YARN MARKET:
Local yarn market remained stable in asking prices with limited sale activity in these prices. Mills were interested in further sales and they got opportunity sale on their rate to meet delivery and quantity booking. Activity in all yarn counts in domestic market is good and no count, no mill has stocks/sale pressures.
PSF prices dropped Rs.2/kg on 17th Aug 2020 by IFL due to price gap in import Fiber. PTA, MEG prices were stable after stable prices of oil in international market and same followed by International polyester fiber. For next week, prices are expected to remains stable.
Faisalabad trading market was slow and limited activity reported for last week ended. slow demand was in staple fiber and 30/1cd and 31/1pc yarn remained slow.
Following are current asking prices of yarn in local market based on ex mills:
| Count | Price US$/Bale |
| 16/1 CD | 375 – 390 |
| 20/1 CD | 405 – 420 |
| 30/1 CD | 475 – 490 |
| 20/1 CM | 470 – 485 |
| 30/1 PC 52:48 | 385 – 395 |
| 40/1 CM | 580 – 595 |
| 60/1 CM | 820 – 880 |
| 80/1 CM | 1080 – 1180 |
EXPORT YARN MARKET:
Market remained under good business activity with firm and stable price trend. Customers from different regions remained in market and have booked quantities as per their needs. Prices showed stability with tendency to increase further by 2-3%. We might see another phase of buying form European customers as soon as they are back form holidays.
Chinese customers remained active and placed orders after increasing their bids to 2-3% which is good sign. At the same time, lc opening ratio is good and all customers are opening lc’s against booked orders. Cotton prices in international and domestic market are firm. At the same time, there has been very god demand of yarn from domestic market.
European customers are partially on holidays but despite of that, there has been good activity in the market.
| Count | Korea | HongKong | Taiwan | Japan |
| 16/1 CD | 415 – 425 | 415 – 425 | 415 – 425 | 415 – 425 |
| 20/1 CD | 425 – 435 | 425 – 435 | 425 – 435 | 425 – 435 |
| 20/1 CM | 495 – 505 | 495 – 505 | 495 – 505 | 495 – 505 |
| 30/1 CD | – | – | – | – |
| 32/1 CD HOS UNWAXED 100% COT. | – | – | – | – |
| 30/1 CM | 520 – 530 | 520 – 530 | 520 – 530 | 520 – 530 |
| 32/1 CM | 530 – 540 | 530 – 540 | 530 – 540 | 530 – 540 |
| 24/2 CD | 485 – 495 | 485 – 495 | 485 – 495 | – |
PAKISTAN FABRIC MARKET:
In current week under review the local fabric market closed in negative zone and slow sentiments prevailed throughout the week for both narrow and wider width fabric. During the week buyers floated limited inquiries and suppliers booked some orders after tough negotiations at last week price level for both narrow and wider width fabrics. Corona virus pandemic still affecting market sentiments all over the world and Buyers are clueless to place new orders.
Still old stocks are a matter of great concern for weavers and they are pushing their buyers to lift their stocks. In narrow width weavers are booked till 3rd week-September’20 whereas wider width looms till mid-October’20~ end October’20 and offering onward deliveries Moving forward we expect the market to remain volatile and with limited trading activity for both narrow and wider width looms for coming weeks.
Local fabric prices of regular items are as follows:
| Construction | Price US$/YD ExMill |
| 20CDX16CD/128X60 – 63″ 3/1 ”S” TWILL PAK CTN | 0.99 – 1.01 |
| 16X12/108X56 63″ 3/1 | 1.07 – 1.09 |
| 20CDX20CD/108X58 63″ 3/1 ”S” TWILL PAK CTN | 0.82 – 0.84 |
EXPORT FABRIC MARKET:
The week started with good business activity mainly from China, Japan and Korea resultant decent quantities booked by China and Japan whereas Korean customers held their buying due to 2~3% price difference between their target and suppliers asking prices. Some of the inquiries were exchanged by Bangladesh buyers but no business was finalized due to 8~10% price difference. Asking prices remained stable and firm due to firmness in yarn prices.
Some of the weaving units are planning to increase their unit size by adding more looms of wider width. This will help to manage wider width demand because customers has good demand in hand but unable to get required delivery due to good booking with the suppliers and less availability of looms
Good suppliers are booked till mid of Oct and offering end Oct onward deliveries whereas average suppliers are booked till end of Sep and offering early ~ mid Oct onward deliveries.
Due to summer holidays in Europe, very limited business activity was noticed during the week under review.
USA buyers were also aside of buying due to slow market situation Wider widths suppliers had got good booking from the domestic market mainly hence they are comfortably booked for next 2~3 months. Most of the suppliers are offering Nov and Dec deliveries.
| Construction | Price US$/YD CNF Far East |
| 20CDX16CD/128X60 – 63″ 3/1 ”S” TWILL PAK CTN | 1.00 – 1.02 |
| 16X12/108X56 63″ 3/1 | 1.08 – 1.10 |
| 20CDX20CD/108X58 63″ 3/1 ”S” TWILL PAK CTN | 0.84 – 0.86 |
BED LINEN & TOWELS:
The manufacturers of bedding have experienced great demand in the last 2 months both from retail and hospital industry, but along with which they have also experienced highly driven prices of yarns and limited looms. In wider width the 30s yarn’s price is expected to come down, where as 40s will remain stable as the supply is limited.
But then there is a good news where new wider width looms are being installed in 4 to 5 factories, this will immensely increase the output and ease out the prices and reduce the lead times. Because of a solid surge in bedding articles, the market has finally started moving towards increasing the setups which will increase the total exports.
GARMENTS:
Pakistan garment industry has remained well in terms of inquiry sharing and order placement. Some EU customers are on holidays and will resume offices by early September. Industry is expecting a further inquiry sharing and order placement as things started getting better after Covid-19. On the employment side a report has claimed garment workers globally could have been underpaid by around USD 5.8 billion for the month of March, April and May 2020.
As apparel brands and retailers rebuild their post-pandemic supply chain, now is the perfect time to re-think how can they manage their sustainability for their development, sourcing and distribution strategy. The UK Government has also launched a new programme to help retailers to strengthen their global supply chain by supporting workers in developing countries during the pandemic.
At the sustainability end the global fashion industry need to look into less reliance on the coal and fossil fuels for their supply chain to address climate change as critical part of Covid-19 recovery phase. Factories in Pakistan are comfortably booked till November and offering December onward deliveries according to items’ styles and order size.
GOING FORWARD:
Under the influence of increasing trends in the rate of cotton internationally, the rate of local cotton increased and as well as improved buying was seen. Although rains have increased the fear of damage to the cotton crop. So most of the buyers are also focusing on import of cotton.
Local yarn market is expected to remain soft for next week and prices will be according to demand and supply in each count.
Moving forward we expect that local fabric market may remain volatile and with limited trading activity for both narrow and wider width looms for coming weeks.
Export yarn market showed handsome business activity as customers have booked orders with improved prices. it is expected that business activity will remain good in days to come as well.
Far Eastern fabric markets remained mixed during the week however it is expected to improve business activity in coming weeks. European markets were also slow due to summer holidays and hopefully the business situation get better during next 1~2 weeks. The fabric prices are expected to remain stable and firm due to good booking situation and firm yarn prices.
As apparel brands and retailers rebuild their post-pandemic supply chain, now is the perfect time to re-think how can they manage their sustainability for their development, sourcing and distribution strategy. Factories in Pakistan are comfortably booked till November and offering December onward deliveries according to items’ styles and order size.
Because of a solid surge in bedding articles, the market has finally started moving towards increasing the setups which will increase the total exports.
