*Pink bollworm infestation: impact to be re-evaluated as confidence in cotton sales estimates*
*The state government on Saturday ordered a re-evaluation of the damage caused to the cotton crop due to pink bollworm infection after doubts were expressed over the field inspection report.*
*Sources said that the trend of arrival of cotton in various mandis of southern districts of Punjab was not indicative of major crop damage at this stage.*
*“Preliminary Girdavari inputs submitted last week claimed that standing crops in 4 lakh acres of 7 lakh acres were badly affected. However, the sale of raw cotton in the mandis is not as per the loss estimates. The government is sensitive to the concerns of farmers, but there was a need for re-evaluation of cotton crop losses for objective financial assistance to the affected persons,” said a cabinet minister for development requesting anonymity.*
*As per the reports of district officials, the major cotton growing districts of Bathinda and Mansa suffered 76-100% loss of productivity. It was also stated that more than 80% of the total area of both the districts was under attack of serious pests. The report said that the pockets of Sangrur and Muktsar had limited impact.*
*However, official figures do not indicate a large difference in cotton sales over the same period of 2020 until the first three weeks of October, when bumper yields were reported.*
*In the 2020 Kharif season, about 50 lakh quintals of cotton were produced and almost half of the produce was procured by the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI), a central agency.*
*Rajnish Goyal, State Coordinator of Punjab Mandi Board Cotton said that till October 21, 2020, 6.01 lakh quintal cotton has arrived in the mandis of seven districts. * * This year 5.28 lakh quintal raw cotton was purchased in the same period. He said that this season the price of cotton has touched an all-time high of Rs 8,380 per quintal.*
*Cotton was cultivated in an area of 3.3 lakh hectares this year, which is 17% higher than the Kharif season of 2020-21. The yarn sector expects Punjab to reach last year's production of 50 lakh quintals.*
*This year till October 21, 1.08 lakh quintal cotton has been procured in the worst affected district of Bathinda, while 1.60 lakh quintal cotton was sold by farmers in the mandis in the corresponding period of last season.*
*As of Thursday, sales of 1.19 lakh quintals were recorded in Mansa while 1.46 lakh quintals in the district. In the corresponding period of last Kharif season, only 1,637 quintals of arrivals were reported by various procurement centers.*
*Chandrakant Garg, vice-president of Mansa Arhti Association, said that the cotton rate may even reach Rs 9,000 per quintal as there is a great demand for yarn in the international market. “The real impact of the pest attack can be known by the end of November, when the cotton harvesting is over, farmers are taking their produce to the market,” said Garg, a cotton mill owner.*
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