Despite a large crop this season, farmers have chosen not to aggressively sell cotton because the current prices are lower than they were last year. As a result, the arrival of cotton at market yards has been gradual.
The GujCot Association reports that, as of May, Gujarat had received 75 lakh bales of cotton, weighing 170 kg apiece, at market yards, including raw cotton for ginning from Maharashtra. Currently, 30,000 bales arrive in the state every day. 18 lakh bales are also anticipated to arrive by September. The market anticipates cotton prices to stabilise at around Rs 59,000 per lollipop (356kg) of ginned cotton because demand has remained subdued.
According to Ajay Shah, secretary of the GujCot Association, Gujarat had a great cotton crop this year. Around 93 lakh bales will be produced overall.
Arrival in markets has been gradual this season, though, as farmers have better holding capacity. “Recently, cotton prices dropped to a low of Rs 56,000 per candy, but due to poor arrivals and rising international costs, prices have now climbed again, according to Shah.
Up till May 31, the state had 75 lakh bales arrive, with around 15% coming from Maharashtra.
According to Jayesh Patel, vice president of Spinners’ Association Gujarat (SAG), spinning mills in Gujarat are now operating at roughly 80% of capacity, and yarn rates for the 30 comb kind are around Rs 250 per kg.
Due to the lack of recent increases in yarn prices, many spinning mills have significant inventories that remain unsold.The total cotton crop in India is anticipated to be around 3.50 crore bales this year, so arrivals will continue till the end of the season in September,” said Patel.
