The Cotton Association of India (CAI) has revised India’s cotton export estimates down at 4 million bales for the cotton year 2008-09. Earlier, the cotton body had pegged cotton exports from the country at 5 million bales.
According to CAI report, cotton shipments reached 4,14,612 bales during August-December ‘08, compared with 4.5-5 million bales during the same period in 2007. Higher prices of Indian cotton in the international market and the slowdown have hit exports, said traders.
According to a CAI statistics committee report, export of the commodity has increased in January-March this year due to renewed demand from some of the Asian countries. India exported 137,447 bales in January, 198,417 bales in February and 261,201 bales in March. Total exports from August ‘08 to March ‘09 stood at 10,11,672 bales.
The report states that domestic consumption is likely to increase this year. At the end of the cotton year, consumption by domestic mills, non-mills and small units is likely to reach 23 million bales, which was earlier estimated at 22 million bales.
The association has predicted Indian production at 293 million bales, with opening stock at 4.3 lakh bales and import at 1 million bales this year. At the end of the year, closing stock may hover around 7.6 million bales.
The association has so far procured 8.8 million bales and plans to buy 10 million bales by end of the cotton year.
