ICF expects India’s cotton production to increase

Cotton production in the country during cotton season 2021-22 (October to September) is expected to be above 350 lakh bales, according to J Thulasidharan, President of Indian Cotton Federation (ICF). At the annual meeting of the Federation, he said the increase in minimum support price had encouraged farmers and helped maintain the area under cotton. It had also incentivised farmers to take up better crop management practices. On the export front too, the demand was robust. The challenges now were the need for fibre quality, proper grading, improved seed and initiatives to realise better yield.

The next revolution should come only from increasing the yield. With the right initiatives, Indian farmers could reach an yield of 1,000 kg. Thulasidharan said that, this should be the priority for all stakeholders and policy makers.

Many brands in the US and Europe were forcing suppliers to go for sustainable tag and Indian cotton had not been recognised as sustainable. The Agricultural Ministry should take initiatives to bring out simple sustainable guidelines, which could be easily implemented by the Indian farmer. The Indian textile industry saw good demand during COVID-19 because of the market for protective garments and later because of the market going up for garments and made ups