KARACHI: The country’s cotton production reached an all-time high level of 14.81 million bales of cotton on April 31, 2012 by breaking the previous high record of 14.31 million bales in 2004-05.

The textile mills also purchased record volumes as they piled up more than 13.44 million bales out of the total of 14.81 million bales.

Experts at Sindh Agriculture Forum (SAF) said till April 30, 2012 global cotton mill consumption was also projected to increase by 4.7 percent to 25 million tonnes in 2012-13.

Experts said still more than 20 days are left for termination of the crop season 2011-12 and it seems the production will cross 16 million bales level.

The country is in a position to export more than 1.75 million bales worth $320 million, as the domestic prices of lint are comparatively lower than the international price, he maintained.

According to International Cotton Advisory Committee, world production will exceed consumption again in 2012-13, leading to rising stocks and global cotton stocks could expand by 11 percent to 14.70 million tonnes in 2012-13. Almost all major crop-producing countries USA, India, China and Pakistan witnessed better yields in last nine months till April 2012. The rebuilding of the Chinese national reserve by the end of 2011-12 might hold as much as a quarter of global stocks.

Sindh production stood at 3.10 million bales while production in Punjab stood at more than 11.71 million bales this crop season. Better monitoring by crop scientists in Sindh and Punjab also enhanced the crop besides timely provision of basic remedies for the cotton leaf curl virus and bollworm to farmers and growers is added factor, he added.

China bought nearly one million tons of U.S. cotton over the past seven months, keeping prices of the fiber afloat on the global market, and analysts say the buying spree isn’t over.

The purchases, totaling more than a quarter of estimated U.S. production for 2011-12, halted March 31, and traders thought cotton prices on global markets would start to slide. But China still needs millions of tons of cotton to feed its mills, which produce 40% of the world’s cotton goods, analysts said. And with global prices cheaper than domestic, Chinese mills will be agitating for more imports, analysts said.

Chinese mills in need of cotton and trying to avoid high domestic prices have two options, both of which depend on the actions of the Chinese government. The mills are limited to a total import quota of 985,466 tons, which is separate from what the government imports for reserves, but domestic cotton traders say they expect the government to issue additional quotas when the cotton planting is complete at the end of April. The other option is that the government releases some of its reserves, as it did last year when prices in the U.S. hit a record of $2.27 a pound.

If China chooses to retain its stockpiles due to price concerns, then the next logical step is to allow mills to buy more overseas cotton, even at the risk of angering farmers, analysts said.

“China will meet mill demand with imported volumes,” said Chris Kramedjian, risk management consultant at INTL FCStone in Nashville, Tenn. “There could be a pretty good size pent-up demand from the Chinese mills.”

About 60% of China’s purchases were made between Oct. 27 and Nov. 17 when prices on ICE ranged from 95.96 cents to $1.0505 a pound, a good indicator of the price paid on the spot market, as futures and spot prices tend to move together, converging at the time of delivery.

Here are the instruction on how to grows the plant, we have done it our self and does work.

Instructions
1
Moisten a handful of regular white cotton, just until it is damp but not saturated.

2
Place the moist cotton in the bottom of a clear, plastic bag.

3
Lay several bean seeds on top of the moist cotton.

4
Seal the plastic bag.

5
Situate the plastic bag on a window sill that has full sun exposure so that the heat helps germinate the bean seeds. Make sure the bean seeds remain on top of the cotton as the plastic bag is moved to the window and set in place.

6
Allow the bean seeds to germinate and sprout

The spot rate remained unchanged at Rs5,700 per maund (37.324kg) and Rs6,109 per 40kg, while ex-Karachi rate remained firm at Rs5,830 per maund and Rs6,239 per 40kg after addition of Rs130 as upcountry expenses, he said.

Due to decline in the cotton arrivals, Karachi cotton market witnessed moderate trading of around 6,000 bales in between Rs5,200 to Rs6,200 per maund. Cotton lots from Sindh received low prices as last year’s rain affected the quality of cotton crop.

Ahmedpur East’s 500 bales were sold at Rs5,800, 1,000 bales of Rahim Yar Khan were sold at Rs6,000 and 1,677 bales of Sadiqabad were sold at Rs6,000 to Rs6,200 per maund.

Here in the UK cotton market has been the same as well not much difference from 2012, as the UK is trying to build new houses/shop from the growing population.