India’s cotton imports are likely to rise by 80 per cent this crop year. The major reason is unavailability of the fiber with farmers and stockists. India is the top global producer of cotton. Even so, textile mills are importing raw cotton this year, due to short supply of quality material. Drought in major growing states of Maharashtra, Telangana, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh has resulted in lower output this year. Over and above, the quality of late picked crop is poor due to the paucity of moisture in the field. This poor quality cotton cannot be used by spinning mills. Farmers uprooted their cotton plants in 70 per cent to 80 per cent of the sown area due to scarcity of water, ahead of the crucial third and fourth pickings. The quality started deteriorating since the second round of picking in early February.

Rising prices of Indian cotton have made exports uncompetitive. India’s exports are estimated to decline to 4.7 million bales in 2018-19 from 6.9 million last year. Though India has a smaller crop size this year, the supply position is very comfortable with a big ending stock of four million bales for the next season. Thanks to a big opening stock, smaller exports and large imports, the production deficit is well covered.