The depreciation in Pakistan's rupee value against US dollar has led to an increase in raw cotton prices which rose by Pk Rs 200/40kg in the lower grade category and Rs 100/40kg in the higher grade category, in the Sindh and Punjab regions of the country. The Pakistani rupee value on October 31, 2013, was Pk Rs 106.86 for one US dollar, which was quoted on November 30 at Pk Rs 108.46 for one US dollar. The depreciation of Pakistan's currency against the US dollar induced fresh buying, as manufacturers believed it would increase the country's textile exports. The increase in demand for cotton led to an increase in its prices.
According to the Pakistan Cotton Ginners' Association fortnightly report on cotton arrivals, the cotton arrivals into ginneries by November 15, 2013 remained 9.518 million bales compared with 8.519 million bales during same period last year depicting an increase of 11.73 percent year-on-year. "Keeping in view the factors of less sown crop, area damaged due to floods/rains, and climate change effect in the country, the Cotton Crop Assessment Committee (CCAC) of the Ministry of Commerce and Textile Industry had estimated the cotton crop size to the level of 11.958 million bales (Punjab 8.7 million bales, Sindh 3.15)", Khalid Abdullah, Cotton Commissioner, Ministry of Textile Industry of Pakistan told Fibre2fashion. In 2012-13 cotton season, Pakistan's cotton output fell by 12.81 percent year-on-year to 12.915 million bales, compared to the previous season's production of 14.813 million bales, mainly because of less sowing of the crop.
