The Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) has procured over 31 lakh bales (each of 170 kg) of the natural fibre crop at the minimum support price (MSP) till mid-December, accounting for over a third of the total market arrivals in the current 2024-25 marketing season.
"Till December 14, we have procured 31 lakh bales," CCI chairman and managing director Lalit Gupta said. The state-run entity has launched the procurement operation in all states for the 2024-25 marketing season, while most of the purchases so far have been made in Telangana and Maharashtra.
According to progressive procurement data, CCI has procured over 19.94 lakh bales in Telangana and 5.42 lakh bales in Maharashtra till December 14. Andhra Pradesh has procured over 1.8 lakh bales so far, while Karnataka has procured over 1.66 lakh bales.
In Gujarat, the largest cotton producing state, CCI has procured 88,506 bales, while Madhya Pradesh has procured 86,882 bales. In Odisha, CCI has procured 21,148 bales, Rajasthan 13,507 bales, Haryana 5576 bales and Punjab 279 bales. In West Bengal, 234 bales have been procured.
At the highest level of last year's procurement
Raw cotton prices are trading below MSP levels due to weak demand from yarn mills and bearish trend in cotton prices. The Centre has announced MSP of ₹7,121 per quintal for medium variety and ₹7,521 per quintal for long variety for 2024-25 marketing season, an increase of 7 per cent over last year.
CCI had procured 33 lakh bales during 2023-24 marketing season. CCI, which started procurement from Telangana in the second fortnight of October for the current marketing season, is set to surpass last year's figures by a big margin.
Gupta had earlier said CCI's procurement for the 2024-25 marketing season could be between 50-70 lakh bales of 170 kg each.
According to data from trade body Cotton Association of India (CAI), daily market arrivals have already crossed 2 lakh bales. The arrivals on Monday were 2.126 lakh bales of 170 kg each and total arrivals across the country in the current season were over 83.30 lakh bales. As per CAI estimates, cotton production during 2024-25 is estimated to be 302.25 lakh bales of 170 kg each, down by about 7 per cent compared to 325.29 lakh bales last year. This is due to reduction in acreage and adverse weather conditions affecting production in some states.
