Cotton output expected to drop 7.4% due to crop damage from rain

CAI projected that exports would drop to 1.8 million bales, compared to 2.85 million bales the year before.

According to a leading trade body, India’s cotton production in the 2024/25 season is projected to decline by 7.4 per cent from the previous year, totalling 30.2 million bales. This decrease is attributed to both a reduced cultivation area and crop damage caused by excessive rainfall.

As a result of lower production, the world’s second-largest cotton producer is expected to see a reduction in exports during the current marketing year, which began on October 1, and will likely need to increase imports, thereby supporting global prices.

The Cotton Association of India (CAI) indicated that cotton imports for the upcoming year are anticipated to rise to 2.5 million bales, up from 1.75 million bales the previous year.

Additionally, the CAI projected that exports would drop to 1.8 million bales, compared to 2.85 million bales the year before.

Atul Ganatra, the president of CAI, explained that the decline in production is primarily due to a significant reduction in the planted area, which has decreased to 11.29 million hectares from 12.69 million hectares in the previous year.

Traders noted that farmers in Gujarat, the leading cotton-producing state, have cut back on cotton cultivation to allocate more land for groundnuts, which provide better returns.

Ganatra also mentioned that India’s cotton demand for 2024/25 is expected to remain stable at last year’s level of 31.3 million bales.