After having reaped rich dividends in cotton year 2009-10 (Sept-Oct), farmers in Punjab, Haryana and Upper Rajasthan have started sowing cotton for the next season. Marketmen expect cotton acreage to rise across the country in cotton year 2010-11 on the back of lucrative prices received by the farmers in 2009-10.
Cotton sowing is currently under progress in Punjab, Haryana and Upper Rajasthan, where irrigation facility is available to farmers. "Usually, sowing starts by mid-April in these regions but the process has delayed by a fortnight as wheat harvest was late by 15 days," said a Rakesh Rathi, president, Northern India Cotton Association Ltd.
Punjab and Haryana are likely to witness a surge of 5-10 per cent in acreage. Punjab and Haryana brought 4.96 lakh hectares and 5.07 lakh hectares of land under cotton cultivation in 2009-10 respectively, while Rajasthan saw acreage of 4.44 lakh hectares. Cumulative cotton production in these three states stood at 38 lakh bales (1 bale weighing 170 kg).
As per the data available with Cotton Association of India (CAI), Punjab is estimated to have 14.50 lakh bales of production this cotton year (Sept-Oct), while Haryana and Upper Rajasthan 15.50 lakh bales and 8 lakh bales respectively.
"Higher prices of raw cotton is the main motivating factor for rise in cotton acreage in Punjab and Haryana," Rathi said, adding, "Farmers also realised better returns on paddy crop, hence we will have to wait till mid-June to have a clear and factual picture," he added.
Raw cotton prices across the country jumped substantially in 2009-10. Prices of Shankar-6 cotton variety moved up from Rs 22,000 per candy to 27,500 per candy at present. Current cotton season saw Shakar-6 prices surpassing Rs 29,000 per candy mark.
More From This Section
"Farmers received equivalent and in some cases higher prices than Shankar-6 variety cotton in Gujarat. This will encourage them to take up cotton sowing leading to higher acreage," added Kishor Shah of Central Gujarat Cotton Dealers Association.
Prospects for cotton crop across the country are bright in 2010-11. "Going by the prices of raw cotton, the trend is looking up for the next season," said in top official in Textile Commissioner's office in Mumbai.
Marketmen estimate that cotton acreage in India is likely to go up by 10 to 12 per cent this year. "Around 101.25 lakh hectares were brought under cotton cultivation in India in 2009-10, which is estimated rise to 110-112 lakh hectares," said Arun Dalal, owner of Arun Dalal & Co, an Ahmedabad-based cotton trading firm.
While indicating a rise in cotton acreage in 2010-11, CAI sources also maintained that the actions taken by the government to check price rise and cotton exports may affect the growth in area under cotton cultivation. CAI's cotton production estimates released in April peg cotton output in 2009-10 at 301.75 lakh bales.