Cotton prices are surging on the back of anticipated shortfalls in  global stockpiles caused partly by the devastating floods in Pakistan.
Prices of futures contracts have risen 16% in the past month to the  highest since March 2008. The latest rally got underway on widespread  concerns that tight global supplies wouldn't be able to keep pace with  surprisingly robust demand from textile makers.
Prices got a new  boost on Thursday from a widely anticipated report from the U.S.  Department of Agriculture quantified the potential damage to the cotton  crop in Pakistan, which is likely to boost import volume this year