Better irrigation boosts Gujarat Bt cotton area

Bt cotton has been eating into the Kalyan 797 acreage for the last five years. The Kalyan acreage is likely to further decline this year, Y B Rana, president, Surendranagar Cotton Exchange said . Surendranagar Cotton Exchange has futures contracts of Kalyan 797.

"In 2007-08 kharif, the area under Kalyan was 660,000 hectares which might go down to 550,000 hectares this kharif," Rana said. In 2007-08, the Kalyan output was 500,000 bales (one bale=170 kg) as against 650,000 bales in 2006-07.

"Gujarat's total area under cotton was 2.52 million hectares in 2007-08 Kharif, out of which 55 per cent was Bt cotton. This is likely to increase to 65-70 per cent this year," said Arun Dalal, an Ahmedabad-based cotton trader.

Gujarat is the top cotton producing state in the country. Of the country's total output of 31.5 million bales in 2007-08 (Oct-Sep), 11.5 million bales came from the state.

Reasons for migration
Key reasons for this migration are irrigation facilities that got a boost from the Narmada canal network in the state and higher price realisation of Bt cotton as against Kalyan. Long staple Bt cotton varieties are popularly known as Sankar-6 in Gujarat.

"On an average, price of Kalyan 797 is around Rs 17,000 a candy (1 candy=356 kg), while that of Sankar-6 is around Rs 21,000 a candy," said Kalpesh Nandani, a Radhanpur-based cotton trader. Nandani said today Kalyan is being quoted at Rs 19,000 a candy, while Sankar-6 is Rs 24,700-24,800 a candy.

Lower production cost is one of the reasons being cited for the shift. "Bt cotton doesn't need any pesticides, while Kalyan being vulnerable to bollworms and other pests, requires pesticides. This adds to the production cost," Dalal said. The difference in crop period of Bt cotton and Kalyan is another factor.

New contract
Following the declining acreage and output of Kalyan 797, Surendranagar Cotton Exchange is planning to launch a new contract for Bt cotton. "We are in the process of launching a new contract for Bt cotton as the demand for this variety is rising day by day and Kalyan output is shrinking," Rana said.