As per the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI), the 2020-21 cotton season is likely to end by March 2021 due to heavy arrivals in the market as cotton growers fear another lockdown. Reports suggest CCI has procured around 67 lakh bales of cotton till date which is almost double the amount of cotton it procured in the year-ago period. The cotton was procured for Rs 19,048.87 crore.

As the pace of arrivals is fast, farmers do not expect cotton prices to rise further this season, says PK Agrawal, Chairman and Managing Director, CCI. He adds, cotton prices are currently ruling at Rs 6,000 per quintal while the MSP is at Rs 5,825. Moreover, cotton growers faced quality issues this season, especially with the long staple cotton of 30 mm which has compelled them to sell their staples hurriedly.

Delay in rains as well as excessive rains also impacted cotton crop in Telangana, Maharashtra and Saurashtra, Agarwal added. The crop in Maharashtra was hit by the pink bollworm, while heavy unseasonal rains affected the crop in Saurashtra as well as Telangana.

Of all, Telangana farmers sold 21.86 lakh bales to the CCI while Maharashtra farmers sold 10.99 lakh bales. In Gujarat, 38,021 farmers brought 1.92 lakh bales. Overall, 12.66 lakh farmers have sold 65.10 lakh bales to the CCI, for which they were Rs 19,048.87 crore as per the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 5,825 per quintal.

CCI is in the process of procuring more cotton from Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Karnataka. However, it may not be in a position to acquire more than 100-120 lakh bales, against the original estimate of 200 lakh bales, because of a poor crop.

The association has retained crop production at 356 lakh bales for 2020-21. It expects cotton exports to fall by about 10 per cent to 54 lakh bales from an earlier projection of 60 lakh bales.