Pakistani millers, Afghan cotton growers ink deals

PESHAWAR (Pajhwok): Some Pakistani mills have finalised import contracts with Afghan growers for 300,000 to 350,000 cotton bales, sources say.

With the silver fibre spot rate shooting up in Pakistan, Afghanistan is said to have produced about 600,000 bales of cotton this year.

“Pakistani millers are signing import agreements with Afghans on a daily basis to meet domestic and foreign demands,” one trader told Pajhwok Afghan News.

With banking channels in the neighbouring country not fully functional, payment transfers to Afghans have run into problems.

Representatives of businesspeople have repeatedly asked the federal government to remove hurdles to trade ties with Afghanistan.

The source said: “Traders from both countries have evinced an interest in payments in the local currency instead of dollars.”

Last week, the silver fibre spot rate hit an all-time high of Rs19,500 per maund in the local market, where the demand-production gap refuses to go away.

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