The Committee on Cotton Production and Consumption of the Ministry of Textiles estimates the crop size during the current season at 337.23 lakh bales (170 kg each), which is almost 8% more than the previous season.
Though the Committee expected a production of 341 lakh bales at its meeting in October last year, it has revised the estimates down now as the crop is lower in some northern States, said a senior official in the Ministry of Textiles. Daily arrivals at the markets are said to be 1.8 lakh bales now and “we expect better movement next month. Arrivals will increase,” the official said.
Consumption by textile mills, including the small-scale units, is likely to be 295 lakh bales in the current cotton season whereas exports are estimated at 35 lakh bales.
Nishanth A. Asher, secretary of Indian Cotton Federation, said that since October 1, 2022, when the new season started, the total arrivals in the market was 1.3 crore bales. “We believe that farmers are holding back most of the kappas. With the onset of summer, arrivals are likely to pick up in one or two weeks. If it does not, we need to revise production estimates again. So, the next one month is crucial to determine the crop. However, domestic cotton prices are unlikely to move up or down significantly as the textile economy is down worldwide,” he said.
Cotton price on Wednesday stood at ₹61, 300 a candy for the widely used Shankar-6 variety.
