Industry sources estimated that the CCI had procured 30.98 lakh bales of cotton by December 14 this year. Of the total procurement, CCI has purchased over two-thirds of the cotton from Telangana alone, amounting to 19.94 lakh bales. From Maharashtra, CCI has procured 5.42 lakh bales of cotton, 1.80 lakh bales from Andhra Pradesh, and 1.66 lakh bales from Karnataka. Additionally, Gujarat contributed 88,000 bales, Madhya Pradesh 87,000 bales, north India (including cotton-producing states upper Rajasthan, lower Rajasthan, Punjab, and Haryana) 20,000 bales, and Odisha 21,000 bales to CCI’s cotton procurement in the current season.
In the current season starting October 2024, the Cotton Corporation of India has procured 30.98 lakh bales of cotton due to lower market prices than the minimum support price.
With over two-thirds sourced from Telangana, the procurement efforts have increased significantly, especially as farmers opt to sell at government rates, facing a notable price gap.
India’s cotton marketing season begins on October 1, but cotton procurement starts a little later, depending on market conditions. CCI is mandated to intervene in market operations if cotton prices fall below the prescribed MSP. The Indian government had fixed the MSP at ₹7,121 per quintal for medium staple and ₹7,521 per quintal for long staple seed cotton (Kapas) for the current season 2024-25.
Lower prices of seed cotton in the open market in most cotton-producing states have driven farmers to sell their produce at CCI’s procurement centres. As Telangana has witnessed a significant gap between market price and MSP, farmers queue up to sell their produce.
Trade sources said that lower market prices would boost CCI’s cotton procurement further in the current season. It is difficult to estimate total procurement in the current season, but some trade sources projected total procurement to be between 60 lakh to 100 lakh bales.
CCI did not procure cotton in significant quantities in the last two seasons. It had purchased 214,313 bales in the year 2023-24. Its procurement was negligible in the years 2022-23 and 2021-22. However, CCI had procured 91.89 lakh bales in 2020-21 and 105.14 lakh bales of cotton in 2019-20.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)
