Indian cotton exporters lower prices
Indian cotton exporters are offering discounts to New York futures prices for the first time this year to secure sales for an extra 1 million bales (170,000 tonnes), according to Reuters.
The exporters are offering cotton at $1.37 to $1.42 per lb including cost and freight to neighbouring countries, compared with New York July contract’s close of $1.6 per lb on 23 June.
“Market dynamics have changed. There are now many suppliers in the world market, so we have to quote prices considering their prices,” said Chirag Patel, CEO at Jaydeep Cotton Fibers Pvt. Ltd, one of India’s top exporters.
India, the world’s second biggest producer and exporter of the natural fibre, earlier this month allowed additional exports of 1 million bales for the current cotton year ending in September, after exporters shipped 5.5 million bales earlier in the season.
Cotton prices in India have fallen by over a third since hitting a record high of $1,371 per candy of 356 per kilogramme on March 30 on record local output and the restrictions on exports.
The country is likely to produce a record 31.2 million bales in 2010/11, the Cotton Advisory Board estimates.
