Cotton exports from India are likely to increase owing to decline in price during the past few weeks.
Prices of Shankar-6 cotton have slid from Rs. 39,700 per candy (1 candy = 356 kg) on November 1 this year to Rs. 34,625 on December 16, down a massive 12.78 percent in a span of just 46 days.
The current market price of kapas (raw cotton) is around Rs. 820-855 a maund (1 maund = 20 kg).
On the other hand, in China, there has been a sharp rise in cotton imports during November, mainly owing to the Government stepping up its purchases for state reserves.
China imported 378,200 tons of cotton during November this year, indicating a year-on-year rise of 199.6 percent.
Cotton arrivals in India during the current season so far is about 215,000 bales (1 bale = 170 kg), to which the western State of Gujarat alone contributed about 55,000 bales. The arrival is expected to increase as India is expected to have a bumper cotton harvest this season, estimated to be over 34 million bales.
For all these reasons, Indian cotton exports are likely to see an upward trend in the next few weeks.