India's Cotton Corp cuts fiber prices by up to 3% to boost sales
Amid a softening trend in international prices, Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) has cut the price of the 2025-26 crop by ₹1,400-1,700 per candy (356 kg) to boost its sales. The state-run unit has also reduced the pickup period for buyaers from 60 days to 30 days.
"The improvement in prices is in line with international prices," CCI Chairman and Managing Director Lalit Kumar Gupta said. The state-run unit started selling the 2025-26 crop on January 19 and has sold around 4 lakh bales so far, amid a lukewarm response from the industry.
Besides, CCI's procurement has so far reached 93 lakh bales of 170 kg each, Gupta said. The procurement will continue till the end of this month. CCI is still carrying out procurement work in states like Telangana, Maharashtra and Gujarat.
output estimates unchanged
Gupta said local inflows are continuing and the industry will continue buying ahead of the market. Daily arrivals are estimated to be between 1.25-1.5 lakh bales. “Our sales generally increase only after March,” Gupta said.
Ramanuj Das Boob, sourcing agent in Raichur, said arrivals in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Telangana are good, while arrivals in Karnataka are declining. “Market prices are lower than the CCI price, and traders are getting the cotton of their choice from the market,” Das Bub said.
Meanwhile, the Cotton Association of India (CAI), which recently raised the crop estimate for 2025-26 by about 2.5 per cent or 7.5 lakh bales of 170 kg to 317 lakh bales on higher than estimated production in Maharashtra and Telangana, on Tuesday retained the estimate.
CAI has pegged total cotton consumption during 2025-26 at 305 lakh bales of 170 kg each by the end of September, compared to 314 lakh bales last year. Cotton consumption by the end of January is estimated at 104 lakh bales, CAI President Vinay N Kotak said in a statement.
CAI has projected a year-end surplus of 122.59 lakh bales for the 2025-26 season, up 56 per cent year-on-year on record imports of 50 lakh bales during the year. By the end of January, imports stood at 35 lakh bales and exports at 6 lakh bales.
