Cotton production is likely to be marginally lower by eight lakh bales at 390 lakh bales for the season 2014-15, compared with last year, mainly on account of delayed monsoon and erratic rains recently, according to Textile Commissioner.
"There was late sowing due to delayed monsoon and erratic rains in many parts of the country, which had a slight impact on the yield. Therefore, we are estimating the production to be slightly lower by about eight lakh bales at 390 lakh bales for the season 2014-15," Textile Commissioner Kiran Soni Gupta told reporters here.
The cotton production for the season 2013-14 stood at 398 lakh bales, according to cotton balance sheet drawn by the Cotton Advisory Board (CAB).
This year the total supply is expected to be marginally down at 430 lakh bales from 448.80 lakh bales last year, according to the CAB data.
The area under cotton has increased to 129.71 lakh hectares in 2014-15 compared with 119.60 lakh hectares in the previous season.
The crop's acreage has mainly increased in Rajasthan to 4.54 lakh hectares in 2014-15 from 3.93 lakh hectares in 2013-14, in Telengana and Andhra Pradesh to 24.66 lakh hectares from 23.89 lakh hectares, in Tamil Nadu to 1.73 lakh hectares from 1.52 lakh hectares.
The total demand is estimated to be at 390 lakh bales in 2014-15 compared with 416.80 lakh bales in the previous season, the data showed.
According to the CAB data, the export is also estimated to fall drastically to 70 lakh bales in this season compared with 117.92 lakh bales in 2013-14, due to lack of demand from China.
The Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) has procured 83 lakh bales at the minimum support price (MSP), which is expected to be around 90 lakh bales during the 2014-15 season.
Cotton MSP was increased by the government by Rs 50 per quintal to Rs 3,750 for medium staple and to Rs 4,050 for long staple for 2014-15 season.
CCI is looking to export to countries including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Indonesia, who does not produce the commodity, Gupta said.
When asked about the production estimates for the next year, Gupta said the production and the area under cotton during 2015-16 is likely to remain similar to this year.
