According to a recent assessment made by the Cotton Advisory Board (CAB) on the cotton production in the country, it foresees a large drop in cotton production in the key cotton producing states of Gujarat, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh, though Maharashtra seems to be on its way to achieving the estimated figures announced in October, last year.
Gujarat contributed nearly 33 percent of India's cotton production by achieving a production of 11.2 million bales against national figures of 31.5 million bales. But the cotton party seems to be over, with the state likely to face a jaw dropping production cut of 18 percent or 2 million bales in the ongoing cotton season (2008-09).
According to statistics revealed by the CAB, on the assessment conducted last month, Gujarat heads the charts with maximum drop in production with 18 percent, compared to the estimates made in October last year. Other states whose production is likely to fall are Punjab by 12.5 percent and Andhra Pradesh by 8.6 percent.
Cotton analysts and experts tracking the developments closely aver that, the main reason for the shortfall is, due to a decline in cotton arrivals in Gujarat from other states in the country, since in previous years, Gujarat used to have better remunerative prices than other states in the country, but with the introduction of unified MSP, prices across all states are now uniform.
This major development in unified MSP prices across the country, led to lower cotton arrivals in the state and to this lower production figure as assessed by the CAB. The experts though do agree that, there will be a genuine shortfall in cotton production in Gujarat of about 500,000-600,000 bales, more so to do with pests and untimely rains.
Fibre2fashion News Desk - India
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