Spanning Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, the Central Zone emerged as the highest cotton producing zone as India’s cotton production dropped by 1.37 per cent to 360 lakh bales during the October-September 2020-21 seasons. State-wise, Gujarat emerged top cotton producer during the year with a production of 90 lakh bales; followed by Maharashtra with 84 lakh bales of cotton. Orissa was the lowest cotton producing state with just 4.5 lakh bales.

North Zone grows 0.7 per cent

Cotton production in the North zone grew 0.7 per cent to 65.50 lakh bales during 2020-21. Rajasthan emerged top producer of cotton during the year with a growth of 10.34 per cent. The state produced 32 lakh bales of cotton accounting for 9 per cent of the total cotton produced in India. The second largest cotton producer in the zone, Haryana‘s cotton production however, declined by 15.1 per cent to 22.50 lakh bales of cotton during the year.

Central Zone’s production drops

Central zone’s cotton production dropped 2 per cent during the year to 192 lakh bales. Gujarat emerged the highest cotton producing state in the zone with a growth of 1.1 per cent to 90 lakh of bales. The second largest producing state in the zone, Maharashtra witnessed a decline of 3.4 per cent in cotton production to 84 lakh bales in 2020-21.

Southern Zone produces 96 lakh bales

Cotton production in the Southern zone dropped 2 per cent to 96 lakh bales of cotton in 2020-21. Production in the zone was led by Telangana which produced 51 lakh bales in 2020-21 season, 5.5 per cent lower than the previous season; followed by Karnataka whose production grew 10 per cent to 22 lakh bales.

Exports surge

India’s cotton exports surged 105.7 per cent in the first nine months of 2021 totaling to $1,898.10 million. Bangladesh remained the top export market for India’s raw cotton. Cotton exports to the country grew by 37.19 per cent to $907.32 million in 2021 over CPLY.

India’s cotton exports to China grew 160.4 per cent to $630.86 million in January-September 2021. Around 336.29 million kg of cotton was exported to the country during the same period.

MSP for cotton increased

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs increased the Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) for cotton fiber for the new cotton season 2021-22. Prices of medium staple cotton having a length of 24.5 to 25.5 mm have been increased to Rs 5,726 per quintal while the prices of long staple cotton having a length of 29.5 to 30.5 mm have been increased to Rs 6,025 per quintal.

In the last two cotton seasons, the Cotton Corporation of India procured around about 200 lakh bales and disbursed more than Rs 55,000 crore directly in the bank accounts of around 40 lakh farmers. In the current season, it has deployed manpower at over 450 procurement centers to meet all price requirements.