Cotton panel set up for production push

WARANGAL ( AP ) -17-11-2010 -- Cotton bales being loaded for ginning at the Cotton Corporation of India's -Enumamula Agriculture Market Yard in Warangal District ( 140 kms from Hyderabad) of Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday . Over the past week , cotton farmers have agitated , refusing to part with their produce as CCI had dropped procurement price from Rs 4400 to Rs 3800 
due to high moisture content , leading to downfall in procurement . According to the CCI website , 
3.80 million bales have arrived in various procurement centers with a daily arrival of 2Lakh to 2.30 
Lakh bales and the end of November could see about 8 million bales of procurement . The 
present price of ginned cotton is ruling at Rs 41500 to Rs 43000 per candy ( 356 kgs ).---PHOTO: P_V_SIVAKUMAR

The Cotton Advisory Board (CAB) has set up a sub-committee that will work on ensuring sustainability of cotton production, according to a senior official in the Ministry of Textiles.

This follows concerns that actual cotton production could turn out to be lesser than estimates. Industry sources here said that in its previous meeting, the CAB had estimated that the cotton production this season (October 2015-September 2016) would touch 352 lakh bales.

However, the actual production could be lower than the estimated level, with the average yield now being 500 kg per hectare as against 570 kg a hectare a few years ago.

The ministry official also said that since both the Agriculture and Textile ministries have an interest in the crop, another such sub-committee, or more, may be formed to jointly lay out a roadmap for sustainable production.

Adequate stock

Sources in the trade said that the price of Shankar – 6 cotton, a variety popular with textile mills, was Rs. 33,300 a candy on April 1, going up to Rs. 36,500 a candy by the end of April, before settling at Rs. 35,000. However, there is no complaint of shortage of cotton. “We have adequate stocks,” the official said. The area under cotton in the Punjab, Rajasthan, and Haryana is expected to decline, even as farmers in Maharashtra and Telengana show little interest in the crop, said K.N. Viswanathan, vice-president of the Indian Cotton Federation. A clearer picture would emerge after the monsoon set in, he added.