23 January 2023 Cotton Market Bulletin

• The Sensex opened at a level of 60838.73 points with a gain of about 216.96 points. On the other hand, the NSE’s Nifty opened at a level of 18090.80 points with a gain of 63.10 points.
• New Delhi: Climate change is predicted to reduce maize and cotton yield in Punjab by 13 per cent and 11 per cent by 2050, according to a new study conducted by agriculture economists and scientists at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU).
• The textile firm owners in Karachi have threatened to stage a protest over the delay by authorities in the clearance of cotton containers in an indication of problems in a sector in Pakistan that provides employment to a large number of people. Pakistan is already struggling to boost its depleting foreign exchange reserves.

North Zone:

Cotton traded steady tone across major spot market of north India on Monday. Prices were quoted down to 50-75 / maund Saturday evening. Today weather clear. New crop – cotton traded at ready delivery – In Punjab,  Rs 6,250-6,350 a maund. In Haryana, it offered at Rs 6,200-6,350 a maund. while in Upper Rajasthan, quoted readty delivery at Rs 6,400-6,50 a maund.

Central Zone:

Cotton spot prices steady tone across west India market on Mondday. Sankar-6, new crop 29 mm (RD-75 & MIC-3.8), in Gujarat traded at Rs 62,000-62,500 a candy and 28.5mm (RD-74) quoted at Rs.61,000-61,500 a candy. V-797 trade at Rs 45,000-46,000 (12-15% trash condition) a candy for February / March delivery. While in Maharashtra, new crop good grade cotton (29mm) quoted at Rs 61,000-61,500 a candy.

South Zone:

Cotton spot price was steady tone across the major trading centers of south India.

US Cotton Futures :

Strong Week In Cotton Ends On Friday Gains: Cotton futures rallied on Friday to close near the week’s highs. Front months settled 227 to 331 points higher on Friday, with March up by 446 points for the week. March cotton got to within a penny of the December 21st high. The weekly Classings update had 270k bales of upland cotton and 21k bales of pima classed during the week for a season total of 13.562m bales. The weekly Commitment of Traders report showed cotton speculative traders flipped to net short during the week of 1/17. The group’s net new selling flipped the group from 9.1k contracts net long to 1.9k contracts net short. Commercial cotton hedgers lifted 6.3k short hedges for a 31,476 contract net short as of 1/17. USDA’s FAS reported cotton export bookings were 209,435 RBs during the week that ended 1/12. That was a near 3x increase from the week prior, but was still down 23% from the same week last year. China was the top buyer for the week with 55k RBs, followed by Pakistan and Vietnam each with just over 40k RBs. Exports from the week were 183,105 RBs led by shipments to China. The accumulated export sits at 4.2m Running Bales as of 1/12. USDA’s weekly Cotton Market Review showed 29,064 bales of cotton was sold at spot through the week at an average cash price of 81.93 cents. The season’s running total is 265,609 bales, well below last year’s 1.08 million. The Cotlook A Index remained for 1/18 was 50 points higher at 98.6 cents/lb. The AWP for cotton was 225 points lower to 72.43 cents. ICE Certified Stocks were 8,900 bales as of 1/18.

Mar 23 Cotton  closed at 86.7, up 331 points,

May 23 Cotton  closed at 87.06, up 320 points,

Jul 23 Cotton  closed at 87.22, up 304 points

Pakistan :

Prices slightly down amid low buying: KARACHI: Cotton prices went slightly down during previous week in local market. There was a boom in international cotton market due to Chinese buying. A shortfall of 1 million bales is reported for India. According to the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) 150 textile mills have been closed in the country. There is a decrease of 17% in textile products. Pakistani exporters; however, got a positive response in Heimtextil exhibition held in Germany. Pakistan Yarn Merchants Association has demanded that L/C facility for import of textile raw material should be restored, immediately. In the domestic cotton market, the price of cotton saw a relative decline during the last week as textile spinning mills also refrained from buying high-priced cotton due to which the business volume remained very low. Textile spinners’ banks are unable to open L/Cs of imported cotton due to which the spinners started panic buying during the last two weeks but because of to a sharp price increase they restricted the purchase due to which the price of cotton which was Rs 21,000 to 22,000 per maund decreased by Rs.1,000 to Rs.2,000 per maund to reach Rs.20,000 per maund. During the last two weeks, the price of cotton had increased by Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000 per maund. There is little room for more growth. According to APTMA, currently around 150 textile spinning mills have been closed, and if the situation continues, more mills will be closed also. The country will have to import cotton in a large quantity after the alarming decline in cotton production. Due to the issues in opening L/Cs in the country it is first time in the textile history of the country that APTMA wrote a letter to the US Embassy and requested to take up the issue of loan approval for cotton import before the American government. In a letter written to US Ambassador Donald Bloom, APTMA urged him to take up the case with the US government for sanctioning the loan. APTMA has requested a soft loan of $2 billion to import 3.5 million bales. The cotton will be imported from the US. Government of Pakistan is moving from country to country for assistance, but this is the first time that the APTMA, the largest organization of the country, has also requested financial assistance from the United States, which is beyond comprehension. According to reports, some export orders have been signed in Heimtextil exhibition. In Sindh province, the price of cotton was in between Rs 16,500 to Rs 20,000 per maund after a decrease of Rs 1,000 per maund. The price of Phutti was Rs 6,000-9,500 per 40 kg. In Punjab, the price of cotton fell by Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 per maund and was in between Rs 19,000 to Rs 20,000 per maund. The price of Phutti was Rs 6,500 to Rs 10,000 per 40 kg. The prices of Banola, Khal and oil prices remained stable. The spot rate committee of the Karachi Cotton Association kept the spot rate unchanged at Rs 20,000 per maund.

China :

Chinese textile exporter spends $120m on giant NSW cotton farm: Jan 23, 2023 – One of Asia’s biggest textile manufacturers and exporters, China-based Jinsheng Textiles, has paid around $120 million for Gundaline Station, a massive irrigated cotton farm near Darlington Point in the NSW Riverina. The deal is the second $100 million-plus farming transaction involving offshore investors this year, highlighting the global appeal of prime Australian farmland. Earlier this month, Victorian-based Excel Farms, backed by Canadian investment firm Fiera Comox, snapped up an 8554-hectare mixed-farming enterprise Cherylton Farms near Kojonup in WA’s Great Southern Region for more than $100 million. Gundaline was offloaded by Dutch investment firm Optifarm, which paid about $65m in 2018.  Privately-owned Jinsheng is based in the textile city of Keqiao, south of Shaoxing in China’s north-eastern Zhejiang province. According to its website, the company supplies suit and other garment fabrics to manufacturers across Asia (including Australia), Europe, Russia, North and South America, as well as to the domestic China market. While selling agents Danny Thomas and Elizabeth Doyle from real estate firm LAWD referred to the buyer only as an “international clothing manufacturer” property records show Gundaline was bought by interests associated with Jinsheng Textiles. Gundaline spans around 14,916-ha at Carrathool in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area. Of this almost half – 6000ha –is developed to flood irrigation, with the balance comprising dryland cropping and grazing. Included in the sale were significant water entitlements. The property was offloaded by Dutch-based Optifarm, a fund backed by high net worth European investors. Optifarm acquired Gundaline for about $65 million in 2018 after it was offered for sale by Southern Ag, a locally managed fund backed by local and overseas investors including former ASX-listed fund manager Blue Sky, Dutch government pension fund ABP and Singapore-based asset manager Duxton. Southern Ag purchased Gundaline for around $25 million in 2014 from Financial Review Rich Lister John Kahlbetzer’s Twynam Group – Australia’s largest cotton grower. With its sale to Jinsheng Textiles, Optifarm joined the likes of billionaire cattle barons Gina Rinehart and Brett Blundy, cashing in on sky-high Australian farmland values. Mr Thomas (whose LAWD colleague Simon Wilkinson negotiated the sale of Cherylton Farms) said demand for premium Australian farmland was being fuelled by high commodity prices, and a favourable exchange rate. “With the Australian dollar at sub $US0.70 our properties are very attractive to overseas buyers,” Mr Thomas said. Veteran farm manager Andrew Parkes, whose Customised Farm Management has driven the expansion of Gundaline since taking over operations in 2014, said it was one of the first properties to achieve carbon-neutral accreditation for its cotton production. “The new owners are keen to continue that and ensure the carbon footprint of the property is kept under control,” Mr Parkes said. Courtesy – https://www.afr.com

Climate change: Punjab’s cotton, maize yield to dip by 11-13% by 2050, says report: Jan 23, 2023 – New Delhi: Climate change is predicted to reduce maize and cotton yield in Punjab by 13 per cent and 11 per cent by 2050, according to a new study conducted by agriculture economists and scientists at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU). Punjab accounts for around 12 per cent of the total cereals produced in the country. The study published in the Mausam journal of the India Meteorological Department earlier this month used rainfall and temperature data collected between 1986 and 2020  to project the impact of climate change on five major crops — rice, maize, cotton, wheat, and potato — in the agrarian state. The researchers collected climate data from five weather observatories of Punjab Agricultural University, ie Ludhiana, Patiala, Faridkot, Bathinda, and SBS Nagar. The researchers — agricultural economist Sunny Kumar, scientist Baljinder Kaur Sidana and PhD scholar Smily Thakur — said that long-term changes in climatic variables show that the rise in temperature is driving most of the changes, rather than the change in rainfall pattern. “One of the most intriguing findings is that changes in minimum temperature have resulted in changes in mean temperature throughout all growing seasons. It means that the minimum temperature has shown a rising trend,” the report said. A rise in minimum temperature is harmful to the yield of rice, maize, and cotton. On the contrary, excess minimum temperature is beneficial for potato and wheat yield, it noted. “The climate impacts on crops will vary widely in kharif and rabi seasons. Among the kharif crops, maize yield is the most responsive to temperature and rainfall than rice and cotton. By the year 2050, maize yield would reduce by 13 per cent followed by cotton (about  11 per cent) and rice (about 1 per cent),” the report read. The negative impact would accumulate by 2080. The yield loss will increase from 13 to 24 per cent for maize, from 11 per cent to 24 per cent for cotton, and from 1 per cent to 2 percent for rice, respectively. “The yield response of wheat and potato would be pretty much the same for the year 2050. By the year 2080, with a significant change in climate, the yield of wheat and potato will be higher by around 1 per cent each,” it said. “Our results indicate that productivity decreases with an increase in average temperature in most of the crops. The adverse impact of climate change on agricultural production indicates a food security threat to the farming community,” the researchers said. The findings provide credence to the claim that the future climate scenario is not very welcoming. The results indicated that the climate-smart packages must be incorporated into the agricultural development agenda at the policy level, they said.        The study suggested focusing on linking farmers with financial institutions to boost their capacity to adapt to climate-smart technologies and practices. Courtesy – – https://economictimes.indiatimes.com

Textile entrepreneurs hope for reduction in freight charges, cotton prices: January 22, 2023 – Textile entrepreneurs have discussed key issues to bring in stability in the sector eyeing a reduction in cotton prices and freight charges, an industry official has said. Participating in an interactive session here, around 120 managing directors of spinning mills discussed various issues including cotton prices and freight rates, according to Indian Texpreneurs Federation, the organisers of the event. Sharing of benchmark numbers regarding productivity, cost reduction techniques, best practices to be adopted on periodic basis to improve manufacturing were some of the key points discussed, ITF convenor Prabhu Dhamodharan said. Andhra Pradesh Textile Mills Association, Telangana Spinning and Textile Mills Association, Spinners Association, Gujarat and ITF participated in the event. Market trends and quality parameters, yarn and fabric market intelligence regarding domestic and export markets were also discussed as ‘common cooperation task between the associations’, he said. Exploring and sharing of knowledge in adding value to the spinning sector, research on domestic and global ‘textile and fashion’ trends were also discussed during the meet, he said. Courtesy – https://www.business-standard.com

Pakistan textile firm owners threaten protest over delay in clearance of imported cotton: Karachi [Pakistan], January 21 (ANI): The textile firm owners in Karachi have threatened to stage a protest over the delay by authorities in the clearance of cotton containers in an indication of problems in a sector in Pakistan that provides employment to a large number of people. Pakistan is already struggling to boost its depleting foreign exchange reserves. Geo News reported citing The News that the protest has been threatened due to the delay in the clearance of imported cotton containers at Karachi port. The report quoted All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) Chairman Hamid Zaman as saying that the textile industry will be forced to protest if the government doesn’t clear the imported cotton. He told a programme organised by Lahore Economic Journalist Association that the textile industry would fail to meet an export target of $25 billion in the current year on the non-availability of raw materials, mainly raw cotton. “This year, textile exports will be limited to $16-17 billion,” he predicted. Geo News report said the textile industry imports raw cotton and after value addition exports it at four times the imported value and the government should allow exporters to import 35 per cent of the export value. The APTMA chief warned that seven million people associated with the industry will be unemployed in January if things are not controlled. “The industry was left with 60 days’ of raw materials only and if timely clearance of already arrived cotton will not start from the port, textiles will completely shut down. This will result in unemployment of 25 million people across the country,” he warned. Almost 30-50 per cent of the textile industry of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Sindh had already been completely or partially closed, Zaman said according to the report . APTMA chief urged the government to instruct commercial banks as well as the State Bank of Pakistan to ensure the timely opening of letters of credit for the cotton importers to avoid any export crisis. Demurrages and detention charges on imported goods had exceeded the value of the goods that foreign companies had to pay, Zaman said. The report cited APTMA senior vice chairman Kamran Arshad as saying that a severe shortage of raw cotton was there in the local market as the country had produced only 4.6 million cotton bales and that 15 million cotton bales were required to achieve $20 billion in exports. (ANI) Courtesy – https://theprint.in