A fall in cotton prices has rejuvenated cotton ginners in Gujarat as they see improved margins.
Of the around 1000 ginners in Gujarat only 10 per cent remained operational during March, when prices had peaked up to Rs 62,000 per candy of 356 kg. With cotton prices easing over the last one week, more and more ginners have resumed their operations. The number of operational ginning units in Gujarat has increased to 300 during past two weeks from 100 reported in March.
"In last month, arrival from Maharashtra was almost nil, with this, domestic arrivals were also slow, due to which ginners had to stop operations but now the situation has improved as arrivals from Maharashtra has gained momentum," said Dilip Patel, president of All Gujarat Ginners’ Association.
Meanwhile, industry experts maintained that the upbeat mood in the ginning industry was mainly on account of the reduced prices of cotton. "The prices have come down in recent days and this has triggered the ginning activity. However, many ginnning units still remain non-operational not only in Gujarat but also in Maharashtra," said Arun Dalal, a cotton expert in Ahmedabad.
The prices have come down by around Rs 4000 over last two weeks from Rs 61,000-62,000 per candy to Rs 57,000-58,000 now. The Sankar-6 quality of raw cotton hovered in the range of Rs 1100-1350 per 20 kg, while Maharashtra cotton traded in the range of Rs 1250-1300 per 20 kg in Gujarat.
Market sources informed that prices were also one of the factors for ginners for reopening. Raw cotton price has fallen by almost Rs 80 per 20 kg in the range of Rs 1,300-1,350 from Rs 1,400-1,435 per 20 kg. Farmers are releasing their stocks from the beginning of this month, informed a source.