Good year for cotton farmers

Pradeep Kumar Agrawal, CMD, Cotton Corporation of India, says that the cotton season of 2020-21 was pretty fruitful for the corporation and that cotton farmers have gained despite the pandemic. He says that during the said period, CCI obtained 92 lakh bales under MSP operations. He adds that though the season that initially commenced with low cotton prices, for the last six weeks, cotton prices have been ruling much above MSP. Thus,  farmers are getting Rs 6,400 to Rs 6,500 per quintal as against the MSP of Rs 5,825 per quintal.

“Indian prices are still the most competitive in the world. Indian cotton is still the most reasonably priced globally, and the industry is also getting good quality cotton at consistent price. That is why I think they are getting good margins in yarn, too. It has been reported by mills that they are getting good margins for the first time,” said the CCI top official.

Commenting on India’s cotton exports during this phase, he notes that the country has been able to export 45 lakh bales to countries like Bangladesh & China. He is hopeful that India’s cotton exports may go up to 65-70 lakh bales in the next 6 months.