Indian cotton ginners worried over scanty rainfall

Indian cotton ginning factories are worried about scanty rainfall in the key months of August and September, which could impact the production of raw cotton in the 2023-24 cotton season.

August and September are the key months, in which, cotton plants flower to the maximum due to rains. But there has been scanty rainfall in these two months in various cotton regions of India.

Media reports quoted a ginner in the state of Maharashtra as saying that the 2022-23 season had started with raw seed cotton commanding prices of around INR 8,500 per quintal.



“However, since then there has been a sharp correction in prices, so cotton farmers are holding on to their raw seed cotton produce, with hopes of better prices,” the ginner added.

Currently, raw seed cotton in Maharashtra is quoted between INR 7,100 and 7,500 per quintal.

All these factors have led to a decline in the arrivals of raw seed cotton in the market, which has led to ginning factories operating at lower capacities.



Farmers of another major Indian cotton-producing state, Punjab saw their cotton crop infected with Pink Bollworm last month, which is also expected to reduce cotton output in the state.



There are also fears of Indian cotton output declining in the new cotton season beginning in October as cotton sowing has reduced 1.81 percent to 122.56 lakh hectares when compared to the earlier season.