Deficit rains play havoc with Maharashtra cotton crop

30 Jul '12

2 min read

The rains are playing truant this season in India. Due to the deficit rainfall, cotton sowed in various regions of Maharashtra is on the verge of being spoilt or is already damaged. This has raised a specter of a decline in production of what is also called the white gold.

“There is a loss to the cotton crop, how significantly is not known yet. It has now started raining, but is very sporadic across Maharashtra. Some regions are receiving good rains, while some are not”, Dr Hirani – Chairman of the Maharashtra State Co-op Cotton Growers Marketing Federation (MSCCGMF) told fibre2fashion.

“The cotton crop has suffered in Marathawada and Jalgaon regions in Maharashtra, but is somewhat better in Vidharbha this year, compared to last year. Since the last couple of days, rains have been good in half of Marathwada, which improves prospects of a good crop. However, the correct data will be available only in the first week of August”.

Maharashtra is the second largest cotton producing state in India, followed by Gujarat. As per the estimates of the Cotton Advisory Board (CAB), Maharashtra produced around 3.97 million bales (1 bale = 170 kg) in the 2010-11 cotton season. The main regions being, Marathawada, Vidharbha and western Maharashtra.

MSCCGMF is the largest supplier of cotton in the world, merchandising over 3.5 million bales of cotton. Its exports exceed US $400 million and it supports over 2.5 million cotton farmers. It is involved in the entire cotton production stage beginning from cotton seeds to raw cotton exports.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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