Chairman Businessmen Group (BMG) Zubair Motiwala and President Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) Muhammad Rehan Hanif, Saturday, expressed grave concern over the ongoing closure and sealing of the historic Karachi Cotton Exchange (KCE) Building, located on I.I. Chundrigar Road, and its increasingly detrimental effects on the cotton trade and the broader cotton economy of Pakistan.

In a joint statement issued, Zubair Motiwala and Rehan Hanif said that the continued sealing of the building by federal authorities, following a joint operation by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) over contested ownership claims, has disrupted the core functioning of the formal cotton market. For the first time in 52 years, the Karachi Cotton Association has been unable to issue its daily cotton spot rates, the foundational benchmark for pricing in Pakistan’s cotton market”, they said, adding that the absence of the daily spot rate has already generated significant uncertainty among banks, insurers, ginners, textile mills, brokers, exporters, and importers, stalling transactions and undermining confidence in the cotton value chain at a critical period.

The Chairman of BMG and the President of KCCI stated that the closure of the KCA Building and the interruption of its price-discovery mechanism are not merely localized operational issues. It has systemic implications for Pakistan’s entire cotton economy, which supports thousands of farmers, traders, ginners, textile enterprises, and associated sectors. The absence of a daily spot rate undermines credit flows, stock valuations, and international trade representation, with cascading effects on growth, employment, and foreign-exchange earnings.