Cotton output estimated at 341.50 lakh bales in 2015-16: CAI

Country's cotton output is estimated to be 341.50 lakh bales for the 2015-16 season, which began October 1, according to industry body CAI.
The Cotton Association of India (CAI) has placed its April estimate of the cotton for the 2015-16 crop year at 341.50 lakh bales, 170 kgs each.
The total output for the 2014-15 crop year stood at 382.75 lakh bales, CAI said in a statement here.
The lower crop estimate is mainly due to crop damage in the northern region due to the white-fly attack this year.
The total output estimated in the northern zone during the season 2015-16, is 41 lakh bales, down from 53.50 lakh bales last year, it added.

The arrival of cotton during April, is estimated at 22.25 lakh bales compared to 27.05 lakh bales arrived during the same month last year.
The total cotton arrivals this season up to April are estimated at 302.40 lakh bales, which constitute around 89 per cent of the total estimated crop.
The projected balance sheet drawn by the CAI for 2015-16, estimates total cotton supply at 429.10 lakh bales while domestic consumption is estimated at 305 lakh bales, thus leaving an available surplus of 124.10 lakh bales.