India & International Market Highlights:

India’s cotton exports have gained momentum as Indian cotton is currently the cheapest in the world. Cotton Corporation of India, which is holding the largest stocks in the country, has sold close to 5 million bales of cotton in the past two months, a lot of which has been shipped abroad by private traders.

 LAHORE: A massive decline in cotton production has severely impacted the industry associated directly and indirectly, leaving growers, ginners, the textile industry.

Cotton traded steady tone across major spot market of north India on Monday. Today weather clear. New crop ready delivery – In Punjab, cotton traded at Rs 4,370-4,400 a maund. In Haryana,it offered at Rs 4,300-4,350 a maund while in Upper Rajasthan, cotton quoted at Rs 4,270-4,340 a maund. Cotton spot prices steady tone across west India market on Monday. Gujarat weather clear, Sankar-6, 29 mm (10% Moisture, RD-75 & MIC-3.8), new crop good quality in Gujarat traded at Rs 42,000-42,500 a candy and 29 mm (10% Moisture, RD-74 & MIC-3.8) quoted at Rs.41,000-41,500 a candy. V-797 sold at Rs 28,000-28,500 (13% trash condition) a candy. While in Maharashtra, new crop good grade cotton (30mm) quoted at Rs 41,500-42,000 a candy. Cotton spot price was steady tone across the major trading centers of south India.

Pakistan:

Textile exports have carried the flag rather well in trying times. The only thing separating 4M exports in FY21 and in FY20 is the second decimal in billions of dollars. Textile’s share at 63.3 percent in total exports is the highest in over a decade, clear by 6 percentage points to the previous 10-year average. The drop in food exports has been and by and large made up by the textile exports.

It must be remembered, Pakistan’s textile export story had started to be built by massive growth in quantities, as the sector was liberated from many of its ills. The start of FY20 saw consistent increase in export quantities, in some of the major exporting categories such as readymade garments and bedwear. Readymade garments had posted a stellar 2QFY20 with highest ever quantity exported. Bedwear had achieved the feat in the previous quarter and continued posting impressive numbers even after.

China:

Cotton futures open lower: ZHENGZHOU, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) — Cotton futures opened lower Monday in daytime trading on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange (ZCE). The most active cotton contract for January 2021 delivery lost 115 yuan (about 17.50 U.S. dollars) to open at 14,310 yuan per tonne. As the world's largest producer, consumer and exporter of textile, China listed cotton futures on ZCE in June 2004, helping cotton-related enterprises hedge the price risk.

Cotton purchasing centre inaugurated at Guntur: 20 Nov 2020 – Guntur: MLA Ambati Rambabu inaugurated cotton purchasing centre on Sattenapalli Agriculture Market Yard premises set up by the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) on Thursday. Speaking on this occasion, he said for the convenience of farmers, the CCI has set up cotton purchasing centre to get better price to the farmers. Guntur district Rythu Sangam president Gadde Chalamaiah said that 60 percent of farmers cultivating cotton are tenant farmers. Due to lack of identity cards, they did not book for e-crop. He demanded that the district administration issue ID cards to the tenant farmers and take steps to get MSP. He demanded that the CCI relax the norms and purchase the cotton from the farmers without taking moisture into consideration. Based on the moisture percentage the CCI is paying the price to the farmers. The CCI is paying maximum Rs 5,825 per quintal. Depending upon quality and moisture percentage, the CCI is fixing the rate and paying price to the farmers. If the cotton contains more than 12 percent moisture, the farmers are not getting the MSP. As a result, the farmers in losses. Floods and heavy rains in September and October damaged cotton crop in Guntur, Krishna, Kurnool and West Godavari districts.

Govt seeks Chinese, US help on cotton seeds: November 20, 2020 – LAHORE: Punjab government has decided to collaborate with agriculture researchers from China and the US to develop new seeds for cotton and other crops besides strengthening legislation to curb substandard seeds. The decision was made in a three-hour meeting jointly chaired by Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar and Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar at Governor House on Thursday. Federal Minister for Food Fakhr Imam, provincial ministers, Punjab chief secretary and representatives of the private sector also attended the meeting. The participants discussed problems related to cotton seeds at length and proposed strict punishment to those who produced substandard seeds. It was decided that noted researchers from the US and China would be enlisted for collaboration with local experts to improve research quality. The meeting decided to constitute a 10-member committee, headed by Punjab Minister Hussain Jahanian Gardezi, for coordination among researchers for promotion of quality research. The committee will meet every week and consult the governor and chief minister every fortnight to keep them updated about developments and take guidance on future strategy. It was also decided that the government will take the private sector on board for promotion of research and development of quality cotton seed. A separate coordination committee of the federal government and officers concerned of Punjab will also be constituted. Addressing the participants, Chief Minister Buzdar said the provincial government would use all available resources for development of new cotton seeds. Federal Minister Fakhr Imam said it was an important step of the provincial government to initiate joint efforts for development of new seeds. Efforts should be made to produce more cotton in Pakistan than in India. Now that a committee of officers of the federal and Punjab governments has been formed, the matter will be expedited.