Cotton output in India is likely to drop by up to 15 per cent this year due to insufficient rain and pest attacks. Farmers are worried as rainfall over the last one month has been scanty, putting the crop under stress. In Gujarat, a major cotton producing state, rainfall has been patchy and 28 per cent below normal. The yield could decline by 10 per cent to 15 per cent due to lower acreage and poor rains in Gujarat. The situation is also worrisome in Maharashtra. In Punjab and Haryana, the crop is at risk of damage from whitefly attack. The region has faced pest attacks but not so serious as it is now. Farmers in Punjab and Haryana may lose up to 30 per cent of the crop. They are forced to follow agents of pesticide companies and spend a fortune to save their crops.

Prices would be supported by low global output, rising local demand and the rupee’s depreciation. Globally yield could decline as the area under cotton has come down in major cotton-producing countries like China, the US and Pakistan. In the US, heavy rains due to El Nino are affecting cotton crop. Damage due to pest attack is reported from Pakistan.