Cotton sector shows all-round growth in FY15: CAI

The cotton sector in India witnessed an all-round growth and the production is estimated at 402 lakh bales during 2014-15, Cotton Association of India (CAI) has said.
Cotton production in the country, which was 158 lakh bales of 170 kilograms each in 2001-02, has more than doubled and is estimated at 402 lakh bales during 2014-15.
"We are on the threshold of surpassing China in cotton production to become the world leader," CAI President Dhiren Sheth said at the organisation's 92nd Annual General Meeting here.
The consumption too witnessed a healthy growth and is estimated at 306 lakh bales during 2014-15. India ranks second in cotton consumption, next only to China, it said.

The country exported 117.9 lakh bales in 2013-14 and ranks second only to the USA in exports, Sheth said.
The credit goes only to farmers who are bringing more and more acreage under cotton, he said, adding that GM cotton, Technology Mission on Cotton and government policies too have helped.

Sheth, however, pointed out that productivity of cotton still continues to be abysmally low and far below the world average. The world average is 802 kilograms per hectare against 540 kilograms per hectare in India.
With 328 kilograms per hectare, Maharashtra, which has about a third of the country's cotton acreage, is at the bottom, he said.

Excluding Maharashtra, the average productivity of cotton in the remaining states works out to about 645 kilograms per hectare.
The reasons for low productivity in Maharashtra are erratic rainfall, improper use of chemical fertilisers, low adoption of improved agro-techniques and decline in physical, chemical and biological properties of soil.