Cotton Plantings

Cotton cultivation in Maharashtra has shrunk by nearly 4.59 lakh hectares over four years as high labour costs and lack of mechanisation push farmers towards soybean, a cotton expert said. In 2020-21, cotton was cultivated on 45.45 lakh hectares across Maharashtra, with an output of 101.05 lakh bales (each bale weighs 170 kilograms). By 2024-25, the area dropped to 40.86 lakh hectares, and the projected production is 87.63 lakh bales, according to data from the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and the Cotton Research Centre, Nanded. Dr Arvind Pandagale, an agronomist from the Cotton Research Centre, told PTI that cotton cultivation is largely being replaced by soybean. "Cotton has to be picked by hand. The labour cost for cotton picking is Rs 10 per kg. The selling price is not more than Rs 70 per kg. Plus, the crop needs spraying of pesticides, and the manpower required for this is a big and costly part," he said. "The cost of growing cotton is increasing, which

Union Textiles Minister Giriraj Singh chaired a high-level meeting to assess the preparedness for Minimum Support Price (MSP) operations for cotton procurement during the Kharif Marketing Season 2025-26 starting October 1, 2025. Reiterating the government's commitment to the welfare of cotton farmers, Singh assured that all kapas arriving under MSP guidelines will be procured without disruption, with a focus on timely, transparent, and farmer-centric service delivery. "Starting this season, nationwide Aadhaar-based self-registration of cotton farmers and 7-day rolling slot booking will be facilitated via the newly launched 'Kapas-Kisaan' mobile app. "This digital platform aims to streamline procurement operations, ensure transparency and enable direct Aadhaar-linked payments to farmers' bank accounts through the National Automated Clearing House. The SMS-based payment intimation service introduced last year will also continue," the Textile Ministry said. The minister reaffirmed the

The Punjab government on Saturday said it has decided to provide a 33 per cent subsidy on BT cotton hybrid seeds, as part of its move to promote crop diversification in the state. The subsidy will be given on seeds which are recommended by Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana. Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khuddian said a sum of Rs 20 crore has been allocated for the subsidy programme and this move would reduce financial burden on cotton growers, while simultaneously discouraging the cultivation of non-recommended hybrids to enable them to adopt high-yielding and pest-resistant BT cotton hybrid seeds. The department has fixed a target to increase the cotton crop area to at least 1.25 lakh hectares this year, he said. Cotton, a crucial kharif crop in the south-western districts of the state, presents a viable alternative to the water-guzzling paddy crop, contributing to both agricultural diversification and economic growth. Urging farmers to take advantage of this ..

Higher imports by world's second-largest producer of the fibre could support global prices, which fell to their lowest in more than 4 years after top consumer China levied duties on imports from US

India's cotton exports are likely to decline 36.53 per cent in the 2024-25 season, beginning from October 1, to 18 lakh bales due to lower production following shrinking acreage of the crop in the north and Gujarat, Cotton Association of India (CAI) said on Wednesday. The total exports during the 2023-24 season stood at 28.36 lakh bales, according to CAI data. "The decline in cotton exports is mainly due to a decline in production following lower acreage this year. The acreage for cotton crop has shrunk 35 per cent in the north cotton growing region (Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan) and by 15 per cent in Gujarat. This is going to keep the cotton prices steady compared to the global markets," CAI President Atul Ganatra told PTI. The total cotton pressing 2023-24 season is estimated at 302.25 lakh bales compared to 327.45 lakh bales in the previous season. Meanwhile, the total cotton supply till end of November 2024 is estimated at 108.41 lakh bales, comprising the pressing figures of

Cotton Association of India (CAI) on Thursday continued to reduce its cotton crop estimate for the 2022-23 season, beginning from October 1, 2022, to 298.35 lakh bales as production is expected to decline in Maharashtra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Odisha. The cotton crop is expected to reduce in Maharashtra and Telangana by 2 lakh bales each, in Tamil Nadu by 0.50 lakh bales and Odisha by 0.15 lakh bales, CAI said in a statement. Overall cotton production during the previous season is estimated at 307.05 lakh bales, the statement added. The total cotton supply for October 2022 to April 2023 is estimated at 263.06 lakh bales, which consists of the arrivals of 224.17 lakh bales, imports of 7 lakh bales and the opening stock at 31.89 lakh bales at the beginning of the season. Further, the CAI has estimated cotton consumption from October 2022 to April 2023 at 179 lakh bales while the export shipments up to April 30, are estimated at 12 lakh bales. Stock at the end of April 2023 is ...

For thousands of farmers, the path towards relative higher income has been smoothened by active help from the Odisha Millets Mission

This confluence of extreme weather events brought on by climate change has sent cotton prices soaring by as much as 30%

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Sunday called for the contribution of the private sector in promoting research in productivity and branding of the product

Pink bollworm can inflict locule damage to the extent of 55% and can reduces seed cotton yield by up to 90%. It impacts the lint quality primarily

Indian cotton spinners are likely to report double-digit revenue growth and all-time high profits in 2021-22, mainly driven by high demand and realisations, according to a report.

Poor rain could lead to lower crop yields this year, especially in crops like soybean, cotton and pulses: Expert

Indian farmers have adopted genetically-modified seeds known as Bt cotton that are resistant to bollworms, but it hasn't stopped the infestations