Karachi : Rear Admiral Ateeq ur Rehman Abid SI(M), Chairman, Karachi Port Trust (KPT) accompanied with all General Managers visited the Karachi Cotton Association and met with the Executive Committee and Senior Members of the Cotton Trade to discuss the matters of mutual interest.
In his address of welcome, Khawaja M. Zubair. Chairman, the Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) extended his deep thanks to the Chairman, KPT and his team for visiting the KCA
Chairman, the KCA apprised the house that after promoting to the post of Rear Admiral in the Pakistan Navy in November 2024, Rear Admiral Ateeq ur Rehman Abid SI(M) has assumed the charge of Chairman, KPT in August 2025. He also apprised that his career includes service in various command and staff appointments in the Operations Branch, such as commanding officer of several naval ships and formations, and he is a graduate of the Pakistan Naval Academy, Naval War College, Royal College of Defence Studies, and National Defence University.
Highlighting the role and function of the KCA in marketing of Cotton, Chairman, the KCA stated that the Karachi Cotton Association is one of the oldest trade Associations in Pakistan. It was setup in 1933 to provide necessary facilities for domestic and export trade in cotton. He also stated that the KCA is the premier body of the cotton trade in Pakistan and is composed of Cotton Growers, Ginners, Exporters, Spinners and Commission Houses etc. Unlike other trade bodies, it is a unique Association in the sense that it represents all segments of the cotton trade and have well repute both nationally and internationally, he added.
He further stated that the functions of the KCA widely differ from all other existing Associations in Pakistan as the KCA has a privilege of fixation of Spot Rates of Cotton on daily basis, which is the base for entire cotton trading activities in Pakistan and no other existing Association in Pakistan has such national and commercial responsibility.
He added that the KCA has a facility of arbitration under the By-Laws of the Association to resolve any dispute between Buyer & Seller. The KCA has also set up a facility of cotton testing through its Fiber Testing Laboratory, equipped with High Volume Instrument (HVI) 1000 M1000, which has recently attained 1st Ranking out of 178 instruments of the world in Commercial Standardization of Instrument Testing of Cotton (CSITC Round Trial 2025-3) conducted by International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC), Washington DC, USA.
Chairman, the KCA informed that the representatives of the KCA are actively serving on the Board of Trustees of Karachi Port Trust since so many decades in the best interest of the Karachi Port Trust and economy of the country.
Highlighting the importance of Cotton in the economy of the country, Chairman, the KCA stated that cotton and its allied products is still 50% share of the total economy.
In response to address of welcome presented by the Chairman, the KCA, Rear Admiral Ateeq ur Rehman Abid SI(M), Chairman, Karachi Port Trust (KPT) thanked Chairman, the KCA for inviting him to visit the KCA and highlighted, in detail, the initiatives taken by the KPT under his Chairmanship resulting in the KPT become a net profitable organization.
The KPT side raised questions regarding decline in cotton production and the measures being taken for revival of the cotton in the country. Chairman, the KCA and Mr. Muhammad Naseem Usman, Senior Cotton Broker, the KCA highlighted the various reasons due to which production of cotton in the country is declined year after year and suggested measures required to be taken to revert the situation.
In his concluding remarks, Mr. Jahangir Moghul, Vice-Chairman, the KCA thanked the Chairman, KPT and his team members for visiting the KCA.
