Cotton farmers in Punjab have accused the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) of procuring their produce at a snail’s pace because of which they were forced to sell to private procurement agencies, which are exploiting them and procuring cotton below the minimum support price. Private players continued to call the shots in the wholesale markets, they alleged.

Various farmer unions held a number of protest demonstrations during the ongoing procurement season against the CCI for allegedly not conducting procurement on a large scale, leaving cotton farmers at the mercy of private procurement agencies, according to a top English-language daily in the state.

Cotton farmers in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan have sold over 3.85 lakh bales at MSP directly to CCI in the kharif season, another media report said.

The new Indian cotton season starts in October, when harvest picks up in the northern states. The three states are expected to harvest around 64-66 lakh bales (a bale equals 170 kg of lint) of cotton this season.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)

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