Chennai,
Tamil Nadu
The US Department
of Agriculture (USDA) has predicted India’s cotton production to increase by 4%
and reach 37.8 million bales (of 170 kg each) in the next season, between
October 2021 and September 2022, as compared to the current season’s estimate
of 36.25 million bales. This prediction is considering the India Meteorological
Department’s (IMD) normal forecast of the southwest monsoon.
The USDA also
projected that the area under cotton will be lower at 12.9 million hectares
from 13 million hectares. Punjab and Haryana will start sowing followed by
other states next month.
The prediction by
USDA is on a higher scale than that of India’s Committee for Cotton Production
and Consumption (CCPC) and Cotton Association of India (CAI) predictions.
The USDA also
expects the consumption by the industry next season to be at 32.4 million bales
compared with 30.1 million bales this year. It expects the mills’ consumption
to increase by 8%. It estimated exports to increase to
7.7 million bales from this season’s projection of 6.65 million bales. The USDA
has further predicted cotton imports at 1.28 million bales from 1.02 million
bales projected for the current season. It has also estimated the carryover
stocks at 12.86 million bales compared to this season’s estimate of 13.18
million bales.
Source:
The Hindu Business Line
Image Source: Unsplash
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