Cotton sowing crosses 10-million-hectare mark, prices may fall

By Nayan Dave

With cotton sowing already crossing the 10-million-hectare mark in the current kharif season, prices are likely to fall further in the domestic market.

At present, cotton prices are hovering around Rs 80,000-85,000 per candy (1 candy = 356 kg), said Atul Ganatra, president of the Cotton Association of India, adding, “In the wake of increased acreage under cotton cultivation, we are expecting further correction in prices. At one point of time, prices of cotton went up to Rs 110,000 per candy earlier this year.”

Sowing continues till the second week of August in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu, said Ganatra. According to him, at least 10% higher sowing is expected compared to previous kharif season’s 12 million hectare.

“Looking at the current trend, cotton sowing in Maharashtra is expected to cross 4.2 million hectare. In Gujarat, it would be around 2.7 million hectare. The cotton acreage in north will be around 1.5 million hectare and the same for southern states is likely to remain at around 3.5-4.0 million hectare. The area under cotton cultivation in Madhya Pradesh is likely to remain at nearly 600,000 hectares,” he said.

Although the acreage of cotton exceeds targets in Maharashtra every year, production is higher due to better yield per hectare. In Maharashtra, farmers produce 2 bales (170 kg per bale) per hectare on an average, while in Gujarat it is 3 bales. Apart from northern states, most of the area under cotton cultivation is heavily dependent on rain water. In Punjab and Haryana, where 80% growing area gets benefits of the irrigation facility, productivity goes as high as 4 bales per hectare, Ganatra said.

Avdhesh Sejpal, president of the All India Cotton, Cotton Seeds and Cotton Cake Brokers Association, said farmers are shifting to cotton as they are anticipating better return compared to other monsoon crops. He, however, said farmers need to be watchful as prices may go down to below Rs 60,000 per candy by October in case of a bumper crop.

CM Patel, joint director of agriculture with the Gujarat government, said farmers are bullish over cotton crop as sowing has crossed 2.05-million-hectare mark till July 10. In the same period last year, it was hardly around 1,84,000 hectare, said Patel.