October-March cotton supplies drop by 12%

Cotton supplies in Indian spot markets fell 12 per cent from a year ago to 28 million bales between October and March as adverse weather curtailed production, stated the Cotton Association of India on Monday.

The world's biggest cotton producer is likely to harvest 34.1 million bales of cotton in the 2015-16 season, that started on Oct 1, down from last year's output of 38.3 million bales, added the trade body.

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Trade bodies are consistently reducing cotton production estimates for the current season as pest attacks and the first back-to-back droughts in nearly three decades hampered per-hectare yields.

(1 Indian bale = 170 kg)