India’s cotton production for 2022 to 2023 will be 15 per cent higher than it was the previous year.

Among the helpful factors are an eight per cent rise in sowing area, favorable weather and good crop conditions. Uncertainty regarding the weather conditions for the cotton crop reduced towards the end of September.

In the first fortnight of the current month, there were concerns about the crop due to forecasts of heavy rains in Maharashtra and Gujarat. Some parts of Maharashtra and Gujarat received sporadic rains in the last week of September but there was no excessive rainfall which could have threatened the crop. North India also witnessed rainfall when the crop was ready for picking. But except for a minor impact in small parts of Haryana, north India faced no major losses. Last year, north India’s cotton crop was severely damaged from diseases like pink ball worm caused by the late monsoon rains. Crop yield reduced in Gujarat and Maharashtra too.

This year, no threats have been predicted for the crop so far. Arrivals in north India comprising Punjab, Haryana, upper Rajasthan and lower Rajasthan are increasing continuously.New cotton prices have witnessed a steep fall in north India despite the late arrivals and a prolonged scarcity before the new crop.