Falling world cotton prices are taking a toll on the domestic market where prices failed to pick up yesterday despite a procurement drive by the state-owned Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP).
Floor brokers said that almost all the leading world cotton markets including the US, India and China are under pressure and lint prices have touched a seasonal low.
Another adverse impact on the market sentiment is the low demand for cotton yarn in local as well as world markets because the falling petroleum prices has made man-made fibre cheaper and more competitive, brokers added.
Prices are under pressure as most cotton-producing countries, including Pakistan and India, are expecting bumper crops this season. Moreover, absence of China from the world market is adding to the woes of cotton trade the world over.