Call to speed up cotton sales

The Cotton Association of India (CAI) has placed the cotton crop for the season 2014-15 beginning on 1st October 2014 at 396.00 lakh bales of 170 kg each. The projected Balance Sheet drawn by the CAI for the year 2014-15 estimates total cotton supply at 465.90 lakh bales while domestic consumption is estimated at 310 lakh bales thus leaving an available surplus of 155.90 lakh bales. A statement containing the state-wise estimates of the crop and Balance Sheet for the season 2014-15 with the corresponding data for the previous year is shown in the Table.

The Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) needs to start making sales aggressively as they still hold a substantial portion of cotton procured by them this season. If the entire quantity of cotton held by the CCI is to be sold during this season (ie, by September 30th), around 15 lakh bales need to be sold by them every month. There is a strong risk of triggering support price operations in the next season also if too much of stock is carried too far into the next season. CCI also needs to follow a uniform sales policy for all sectors, says Dhiren N Sheth, President of CAI.