The Cotton Association of India (CAI) has further lowered its projections for India’s cotton production for the 2022–2023 season by 10 lakh bales, to 303 lakh bales (170 kg apiece).
To ensure that the textile value chain is not harmed by speculation and price volatility in cotton, the textile sector in Gujarat has questioned the estimations and demanded precise output estimation.
For 2022–2023, CAI had previously predicted that the Indian cotton harvest would produce 344 lakh bales. This has been periodically reduced, and on Wednesday, it was further decreased. The estimate for Orissa was increased by 0.50 lakh bales, Telangana by 0.50 lakh bales, Telangana by 5 lakh bales, Punjab by 2 lakh bales, Maharashtra by 3 lakh bales, and Punjab by 0.50 lakh bales. bales in the most recent CAI report.
Rahul Shah, co-chairman of the GCCI textile taskforce, stated, “We believe these estimations are merely conjecture and not accurate. India has to create a system for precise manufacturing data. These projections have an impact on cotton prices, which is challenging for the forward value chain because it needs consistent prices to be competitive internationally.
“Actual arrivals have been around 2.25 lakh bales, but CAI has said it was 1.90 lakh bales,” said Jayesh Patel, vice president of the Spinners’ Association Gujarat (SAG). Farmers still have considerable stocks because they are waiting for higher prices, but arrivals for the months of November through March are stronger than last year. No significant factors are present that could cause output predictions to be decreased by ten. lakh bales in such a brief period of time.
Only 30% of the cotton is still in the hands of the farmers, according to CAI President Atul Ganatra. Because we obtain information from regional cotton groups, our data is reliable. Compared to the anticipated 10% rise, sowing area only increased by a meagre 3%. Farmers kept cotton planted up to April of last year and harvested fourth and even fifth pickings as a result of high prices. Farmers, however, uprooted plants in December after two pickings since prices this year were lower. The third, fourth, and fifth pickings of the 40 lakh bales that farmers did not take this year will make a difference.
