CAI releases cotton demand and supply figures

Private purchasers enhance price but farmers have no cotton to sell

S. Harpal Singh
ADILABAD, APRIL 28, 2024: The current election related euphoria across the country, especially in Telangana and its cotton rich Adilabad district, has diverted the attention of all concerned from the cotton trade which had caused some heartburn among farmers owing to the low price.

Price of the white gold has now risen beyond its MSP of Rs. 7,020 per quintal but there is hardly any quantity left with farmers to be sold. As prices had kept low, the Cotton Corporation of India had launched its MSP operations at the beginning of trading season.

Private traders, however, offered much less than the MSP owing to exigencies in the national and international markets. The price situation began improving a few weeks back but farmers had exhausted their produce by then. The local private processing units somehow managed to run the show, albeit failing in terms of ginning and pressing cotton to their full capacity.

Meanwhile, the Cotton Association of India (CAI) has reported an available surplus of cotton pegging it at 42 lakh bales of 170 kg at the end of February this year. Of this 22 lakh bales have been exported which left the closing stock at the month end to 20 lakh bales.

According to a press release issued by CAI president Atul S. Ganatra, the current estimates for cotton pressing/crop for the year stands at 309.70 lakh bales. The total domestic demand has been calculated at 317 lakh bales and the total supply was pegged at 359 lakh bales which includes an opening stock of 28.9 lakh bales and imports of 20.40 lakh bales.

Photo and Video Captions:

A cotton farmer family organising the weekly quantity of cotton pickings in a far flung tribal village in Adilabad, Telangana.

A family of cotton farmers organising the week’ pickings in a neat heap