PAKISTAN COTTON MARKET
During the last week in the local cotton market, slow business activity was seen at lower price levels. As quality has been affected badly due to the devastating floods, so unavailability of quality cotton with ginners caused less interest in mills. Hence, they are focusing on the import of cotton which is quite at reasonable price levels nowadays after a drastic drop.
Ginners are under severe pressure due to less interest from buyers, moreover, they have high rates of cotton with them, on the other hand, imported cotton prices decrease on daily basis.
In the local cotton market, the price showed a downward trend due to the low quality and absence of buyers. The rate of cotton was Rs 15,500 to Rs 18,500 per maund. The price of Phutti is in between Rs 6,500 and 95,00 per 40 kg. KCA also dropped rs. 500 and came at the level of Rs.17,000 per maund.
Almost 50% of the textile sector is closed in most countries of the world. A significant reduction in the
consumption of cotton has been witnessed. The financial crisis is increasing day by day. The textile and ginning sector of the country is facing a severe crisis. A bearish trend continued in the domestic cotton market during the last week. The price of quality cotton decreased further by Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500 per maund, as large groups of textile mills were attracted towards importing cotton. Due to the bearish trending in the rate of future trading of New York Cotton the rate of cotton in the domestic market is almost the same as in the international market.
The quality of imported cotton is better as compared to the quality of local cotton. The ginners having stock are disturbed due to the availability of imported cotton at cheap rates while the traders and farmers of Phutti are also worried about due to the decreasing prices of Phutti, as well as, low buying.
The traders who had sold cotton to ginners on credit were worried about due delays in payments. In this way, the overall cotton sector is in crisis.
The weekly average was down from 87.06 cents last week and from 104.64 cents reported in the corresponding period a year ago. Daily average quotations ranged from a high of 84.01 cents Friday, October 14 to a season-low of 78.26 cents Thursday, October 20. Spot transactions reported in the Daily Spot Cotton Quotations for the week ending October 20 totaled 2,180 bales. This compares to 1,764 bales reported last week and 24,200 spot transactions reported the corresponding week a year ago.
Total spot transactions for the season were 33,174 bales compared to 90,828 bales the corresponding week a year ago. The ICE December settlement price ended the week at 77.40 cents, compared to 84.79 cents last week.
The rate of cotton in Sindh is between Rs 15,500 to Rs 17,000 per maund. The rate of Phutti as per quality is in between Rs 6,500 to Rs 8,500 per 40 kg. In Punjab province, the price of cotton was Rs 16,000 to Rs 18,500 per maund, and the price of Phutti was Rs 7,500 to Rs,9,500 per 40 kg.
The price of Phutti was in the range of USC 0.83~1.03 Lbs. (15,000~18,500/maund).
| Opening Of the Week | Closing Of the Week | Change | |
| Lowest | 89.00 | 83.00 | -6.00 |
| Highest | 106.00 | 103.00 | -3.00 |
CRUDE OIL
Crude Oil prices opened at USD 85.46 a lower level as compared to last week’s closing figures.
This week, crude oil prices showed mix trend in this week and closed on the lower side by the end of the
week.
On the last day of the week, Crude Oil prices closed at USD 84.51 with a decrease of USD 0.95 as of the
opening figure of the week.
| Opening of Week | Closing Of Week | Change | |
| Price | 85.46 | 85.05 | -0.41 |
EXCHANGE RATE
In the last week’s values of the Pak, the rupee depreciated against the US Dollar, and other major currencies showed mix trend in both interbank and open markets.
At the end of the week, Euro closed on a positive note with a figure of 0.98 and the British Pound also closed on a positive note with a figure of 1.13 against the USD.
| Selling | Buying | |
| LC Sight | 219.49 | 219.44 |
| LC 120 Days | 210.76 | 210.71 |
| Open Market | 223.61 | 218.69 |
NEW YORK COTTON FUTURE
New York Cotton futures opened at a lower level on Monday as compared to the previous week’s closing figures.
NYCF showed a downward trend this week, hence slightly recovered on the last session but closed on the lower side by the end of the week.
On the last day of the week, DEC 2022 closed at 79.13 with a decrease of 396 points.
On the last day of the week, MAR 2023 closed at 78.55 with a drop of 344 points.
On the last day of the week, MAY 2023 closed at 78.15 with a lower of 298 points.
LIVER POOL INDICES
Liverpool Index A opened at 102.60 a lower level than the previous week’s closing figure.
Index “A” this week showed a downward trend and closed on the negative side by the end of the week.
On the last day of the week, LPI “A” closed at 95.00, decreasing 760 points.
| Opening of the Week | Closing of the Week | Change | |
| Index A | 102.60 | 95.80 | -6.80 |
PAKISTAN YARN MARKET
The Local yarn market continued unhurried slow in demand & business following NYCF and the local cotton market. Yarn Prices condensed after a lineage in NYCF and local cotton-restricted business was seen. Mills are carrying stocks and under sale, burden stocks were offered on some counts and having cash flow problems.
Sellers were captivated by selling the yarn. Whereas buyers are in peculiar positions & NYCF follows the raw cotton prices in the Global market.
PSF prices were decreased by Rs.5/kg dated 17th Oct 2022 by IFL in the domestic market. PTA and MEG prices stay indulgent in the international market plus the waning of the US $ parity effect in Pak rupees on importing fiber. At the same time, crude oil prices stayed uncompromising by the end of this week. For next week, PSF prices are expected to decrease by Rs.3~5/kg.
Faisalabad trading market was slow and no business was seen. The yarn was less in demand and had no
significant sales of PV and Viscose yarns. The cash flow crisis remains considerate. At the same time, Traders were persuasive with their stocks & management.
The followings are the latest querying prices of yarn in the local market based on ex-mills:
| Count | Price in Pak Rupees / 10 LBS | Price US$/Bale |
| 16/1 Carded Weaving | 3320 – 3402 | 605 – 620 |
| 20/1 Carded Weaving | 3430 – 3512 | 625 – 640 |
| 30/1 Carded Weaving | 3594 – 3841 | 655 – 700 |
| 20/1 CM | 3786 – 3951 | 690 – 720 |
| 30/1 PC Carded Weaving 52:48 | 2826 – 2936 | 515 – 535 |
| 40/1 Combed Compact Weaving | 4307 – 4500 | 785 – 820 |
| 60/1 Combed Compact Weaving | 5652 – 6009 | 1030 – 1095 |
| 80/1 Combed Compact Weaving | 8368 – 8478 | 1525 – 1545 |
EXPORT YARN MARKET
The export yarn market remained slow due to less demand for textile products.
Customers floated handsome numbers of inquiries but business couldn’t materialize.
Internationally cotton prices remained on the lower side due to which business couldn’t mature and as well as pressure was built on Pakistan prices.
Buyers were in a wait-and-watch mode, it seems that the market will remain slow until internationally cotton showed some firmness in prices.
At the same time, slow demand from exporting countries is kept yarn prices under pressure. In Pakistan, after the closure of many spinning mills, yarn supply is short due to which customers are buying available quantities to fulfill their orders.
Chinese customers remained on the sideline as very limited business activity was witnessed.
European customers floated a good number of inquiries. Some orders in normal and specialized yarns were also matured.
| Count | USD / Bale |
| 16/1 Carded Weaving | 565 – 570 |
| 20/1 Carded Weaving | 575 – 580 |
| 20/1 CM | 625 – 630 |
| 16/1 CM | 615 – 620 |
| 20/2 CD | 655 – 660 |
| 24/2 CD | 695 – 700 |
| 10/1 CARDED SIRO YARN WEAVING | 515 – 530 |
PAKISTAN FABRIC MARKET
The local fabric market remained dull for another week for both narrow and wider-width fabrics.
Local buyers opted to remain sidelined due to the downward trend of the international and local cotton
markets. Therefore, buyers remained confused throughout the week and did not show interest in buying.
Weavers received limited inquiries with limited quantities. Resultantly, dull and limited business
materialization is reported in the market for both narrow and wider-width fabrics.
Some of the brands are pushing dyeing units to offer prices at the same level as the year 2020 which is quite a difficult task.
Weavers are in great desperation to get orders and follow every inquiry and ask for any reasonable bid to
confirm orders to keep their looms running.
Currently, weavers are booked in narrow width till early November and cover their wider width looms till mid-November’22~ 3rd week of November’22 and offer onward deliveries, whereas weavers book their special looms till the end of November/early December’22.
| Construction | Price US$/YD Ex Mill |
| 16CDX12CD / 108X56 – 63″ 3/1 “S” TWILL PAK CTN | 1.68 – 1.70 |
| 20CDX16CD / 128X60 – 63″ 3/1 “S” TWILL PAK CTN | 1.54 – 1.56 |
| 20CDX20CD / 108X58 – 63″ 3/1 “S” TWILL PAK CTN | 1.25 – 1.27 |
EXPORT FABRIC MARKET
Far Eastern customers have started sharing their inquiries but could not decide so far on new order
placements.
NYCF prices are continuously dropping thus customers are expecting a further drop in fabric prices so they are waiting for the right time to buy.
Asking prices get further softened by about 2~3% due to slow demand followed by NYCF’s downward trend.
Some of the Korean customers are holding their existing orders and intended to cancel the high-price orders which shakes the customers’ reliability.
Some of the suppliers are partially operating their units as they do not have sufficient orders in hand.
Suppliers are in a position to start production immediately against new orders so currently delivery lead time is not a problem.
Only dobby and special article looms are engaged for the next two months whereas for basic articles, the looms are available for urgent deliveries.
Comparatively a smaller number of inquiries were received from European customers during the week.
A few inquiries were received from Germany, Portugal, Spain, and Italian customers which are under negotiation process and expected to materialize during next week.
Customers are targeting very low prices which are less than supplier break-even price levels.
Some of the USA buyers have placed urgent orders for basic items at very low-price levels.
Wider-width suppliers also have quickly available deliveries so the lead time for the new order is not a problem in wider width as well.
Following were the closing rates based on CNF Far Eastern markets:
| Construction | Price US$/YD CNF Far East |
| 16CDX12CD / 108X56 – 63″ 3/1 “S” TWILL PAK CTN | 1.66 – 1.68 |
| 20CDX16CD / 128X60 – 63″ 3/1 “S” TWILL PAK CTN | 1.52 – 1.54 |
| 20CDX20CD / 108X58 – 63″ 3/1 “S” TWILL PAK CTN | 1.20 – 1.22 |
BED LINEN & TOWELS
Home Textiles’ overall business activity is slow and new business are very limited in recent weeks. We are forecasting that this trend will continue till early next year but it is expected that business activity will slightly improve in November.
Overall demand is on the slower side around the globe which is affecting business volume in Pakistan and as well as other regions around the globe that supply Home Textile products.
As stocks are built up with Retailers so business activity is on the slower side and demand can only be
determined after Christmas / New year break, it is expected that this trend will be continued till Quarter
1 of 2023.
GARMENTS
The apparel industry in general has shown slow activity in which the materialization of orders and inquiries has been much lower and it seems that this will slowly affect the apparel industry as well due to fluctuations in raw material prices such as cotton and other dye materials.
The other factor is slow demand and global inflation, which directly hit the apparel industry. It is known from various sources that many factories are operating below their capacity and are struggling to attract new orders to fill their factory capacity. They are currently booked through mid-November/End of November and will be offered after that.
Customers are anticipating new developments as several brands offer seasonal developments for AW23, half of which have shipped, with orders expected in late 2022 or early 2023.
Sustainability remained an important element as most of the customers especially leading global brands required eco-friendly products. Pakistan garment factories have got all the necessary setup and compliance requirements to meet as required by customers. Along with sustainable products, customers have shown interest in Special fibers as well as textured fabrics garments.
GOING FORWARD
Weakness in price is due to continuing and mounting worldwide demand concerns including inflation and interest rates here in the US and fluctuations (especially higher) in the value of the dollar. Cotton price has also been impacted by a larger-than-expected US crop despite adverse weather issues. Demand concerns combined with a larger-than-expected crop have not been kind to prices. Still, it seems to be overriding economic and demand factors that are in the driver’s seat.
Overall dull business activity was observed in all the sectors of textiles and the same trend is expected to
continue in the next week as well. Limited buying was witnessed only when a customer got their desired price levels. It is expected that customers will start buying when the raw material prices are stable. Whereas suppliers are quite flexible and discuss every bid to conclude business.
