Cotton sales in AP at 2.41 mn bales so far

The Cotton Corporation of India (CCI), Nafed and private traders have so far purchased 2.41 million bales in the state, according to commissioner and director of agricultural marketing, G Venkatram Reddy.

Reddy told mediapersons here on Wednesday that cotton was cultivated in 2.26 million hectares in the state and the crop output this year was estimated to be around 8 million bales. CCI, which had purchased 1.42 million bales till now, would purchase a major portion of the output at the minimum support price.

According to him, the price of cotton had declined this year on account of China reducing the quantum of its imports. Indian cotton exports to China that stood at 12 million bales last year will not cross 7 million bales this year.

The prices at which CCI purchased cotton till now ranged from Rs 3,744 to Rs 3,900 a quintal this year. Private traders purchased 837,000 bales at a minimum price of Rs 3,350 and a maximum price of Rs 3,900 a quintal.

Reddy said the CCI had set up 95 purchase centres and Nafed, which so far bought 150,000 bales, had opened 14 purchase centres in the state.

CCI purchase centres are located in the districts of Adilabad (19 centres), Warangal (12), Karimnagar (12), Khammam (9), Nalgonda (12), Mahabubnagar (1), Medak (5), Krishna (5) Rangareddy (3), Guntur (10), Kurnool 92), Prakasam (4) and Nizamabad (1).