Domestic cotton output to be 341 lakh bales in 2015-16: CAI

Country's cotton output is estimated to be 341 lakh bales for the 2015-16 season, which began on October 1, according to industry body Cotton Association of India (CAI).

The CAI has placed its March estimate of the cotton crop for the 2015-16 season at 341 lakh bales (170 kg each).

Total output for 2014-15 crop year stood at 382.75 lakh bales, CAI said in a statement issued here.

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The lower crop estimate is mainly due to crop damage in the northern region due to whitefly attack this year.

The total crop estimated in the northern zone during the season 2015-16, is 40 lakh bales, down from 53.50 lakh bales last year, it added.

The arrivals of cotton during the ongoing 2015-16 season continue to lag last year.

CAI data revealed that the arrivals during 2015-16 season up to the end of March 2016, which are estimated at 280.15 lakh bales, are lower by about 12% than 318.45 lakh bales which arrived till the same period last year.

"This reduction in arrivals during the ongoing cotton season is also a clear indication of a lower crop this year," it pointed out.

The projected balance sheet drawn by the CAI estimated total cotton supply for the season 2015-16 at 428.60 lakh bales, while the domestic consumption is estimated at 305 lakh bales, thus leaving an available surplus of 123.60 lakh bales.