With 18 per cent of cotton remaining in farmers' houses, the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) has threatened to 'stop procurement' through registration from today (15th). As a result, there is a fear that cotton prices, which are already below the guaranteed price, will come under further pressure.
On an average, cotton is cultivated in an area of 13 million hectares in the country. This year the area was limited to 11.3 million hectares. The main reason for this was that cotton prices remained under pressure. But due to no alternative, farmers cultivated cotton.
Cotton was cultivated in about 40 lakh hectares of area in Maharashtra. Cotton marketing expert Govind Vairale said that a total of 14.75 million quintals are expected to be produced from 11.3 million hectares of area in the country, while 370 million quintals are expected to be produced in Maharashtra from 40 million hectares of area.
A large part of this cotton has been sold and currently 250 to 300 lakh quintals of cotton is left across the country, while 60 to 70 lakh quintals of cotton is available in Maharashtra. Farmers had stored cotton and stopped selling due to fear of price rise.
However, with no hope of price rise, cotton is now being taken out of storage for sale. Meanwhile, preparations are underway by CCI to complete the purchase at the guaranteed price, so it is feared that the price of cotton will fall by Rs 250 to 300 per quintal.
Purchase of one crore cotton bales
According to CCI CEO Lalit Kumar Gupta, CCI has purchased one crore cotton bales across the country. He predicted that 1.5 to 2 million bales of cotton will be received in the coming time. He also said that the cotton season is in its final stage.
Cotton prices have fallen in the market this year. Government procurement was a relief for farmers. There is still a lot of cotton left. If procurement is stopped like this, farmers will suffer huge financial losses. The government needs to intervene.
- Arvind Nakhle, farmer
CCI, which is claiming to buy cotton from the previous batch, has threatened to stop buying cotton without registration. This is wrong. Only with the presence of 'CCI' in the market, competition will remain in the market and farmers will get the best price. At present, cotton prices are Rs 500 to Rs 600 per quintal less than MSP. This year no agricultural product got a guaranteed price. Therefore, CCI needs to remain in the market.
Prices are somewhat stable due to the presence of CCI in the market. If CCI is excluded from the procurement process, prices will fall further and farmers will have to bear an additional loss of Rs 250 to Rs 300 per quintal.
- Govind Vairale, Cotton Marketing Researcher
Cotton harvesting has been completed and cotton from Shivara has reached the farmers' homes. CCI has set a deadline of March 15 for cotton registration, which will give farmers an opportunity to sell this cotton. Only farmers who register within the deadline will be able to sell cotton to CCI. I don't think there should be any problem in registration because the cotton is already in the farmers' homes.
