KARACHI, Sept 27: The cotton market on Wednesday resisted fresh decline on official reports that the production target would be achieved despite reports of damage to standing crop in some of the areas.

Owing to previous season’s crop shortfall, the government has revised the production target to 12m bales plus, which according to latest surveys, is said to be well within reach, market sources said.

During the last couple of weeks, the market remained unsettled amid conflicting reports about the damage to crop due to untimely rain and pest attack in some of the areas of the Punjab cotton belt and prices rose and fell in line with crop shortfall.Lint prices were also marked down by Rs75 per maund on Monday and Tuesday followed by reports of a normal crop and lowering of selling prices by both the grower and the ginner.

“It was the panic among the ginners created by larger arrivals of phutti into ginneries which caused the price decline,” brokers said, adding: “The pace of arrivals during the first picking of phutti continues to haunt both the ginners and growers.”

Floor brokers ruled out the possibility of further fall in lint prices on the perceptions that the figure of 12.5m bales plus is far below the expanded spinning and weaving capacity of the industry.

According to unofficial figures, the mill annual consumption figure had touched the high mark of 15m bales, far above the local production, and an expected supply gap would be met through imports or additional supplies from the TCP.

Meanwhile, reports coming from the upper Sindh and southern Punjab cotton belts indicate that first picking of phutti in some of the areas has already started and average per yield is said to be normal.

Official spot rates were, therefore, firmly held at the last close of Rs2,500 per maund, while in the ready section some of the deals were done below or above them depending on quality of lint in trade.

Ready offtake was light as ginners took a breather and did not indulge in hasty selling. As a result, about 7,000 bales, both from the Sindh and Punjab ginneries changed hands between Rs2,450 and Rs2,550 per maund.