Cotton prodn estimated at 40.55-mn bales of 170 kg in 2014-15

The cotton production in the country is estimated at 40.55 million bales during 2014-15 against about 35.5 million bales in the previous year, the Cotton Association of India (CIA) said today.
Cotton production, which was 15.80 million bales in 2001-02 has more than doubled and is estimated at 40.55 million bales of 170 kg each during 2014-15, CAI President Dhiren Sheth said at a cotton conference here.
The cotton sector has taken rapid strides in acreage, production, productivity, consumption and export of cotton, he said.
The acreage under cotton in India has increased to 12.65 million hectares during 2014-15 and India now has a share of 37 per cent of the world's total cotton acreage, Sheth said.

Sheth pointed out that despite number of achievements, there are several issues specifically concerning India that draw serious attention. With a massive acreage of over 12.65 million hectares, India requires a huge infrastructure to process the increased crop size of over 40 million bales.
The modernisation of ginning and pressing factories, which was the key factor to improving the standard of processing cotton in India to a large extent, was undertaken by the government under the Technology Mission on cotton several years back and needs immediate follow up in mission mode to cope up with the increased crop size.
"The productivity level, which witnessed a marked improvement over a decade thanks mainly to the adoption of GM technology and encouraging Government policies, is now saturated and is still far below the world average."

Increasing irrigation facilities and adoption of scientific innovations and modern technologies like Bollgard II Roundup Ready Flex, mechanised farming and the High Density Planting (HDP) programme are some of the key focus areas which can provide the much needed fillip to increase the productivity level further, he said.