Gujarat's lead in cotton production remains intact

05-Feb-2025 05:55 PM

Gujarat continues to lead in cotton production in India, maintaining its position as the top producer. For the 2023-24 marketing season, Gujarat produced 90.57 lakh bales of cotton, significantly surpassing other states.

Maharashtra, the second-largest producer, produced 80.4 lakh bales, followed by Telangana at 50.7 lakh bales.

During the same season, a total of 32.84 lakh bales of cotton were procured from farmers at the minimum support price (MSP) by the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI). Out of these, 31.80 lakh bales were sold by January 27, 2025.

However, due to favorable domestic prices and weaker foreign demand, no government cotton was exported.

Cotton import and export are managed by private traders, not the government, and efforts are made to stabilize cotton prices.

For the marketing season 2024-25, the MSP for cotton has been increased: Rs 7121 per quintal for medium staple varieties and Rs 7521 per quintal for long staple varieties.

In terms of overall cotton production, the total national output for 2023-24 stood at 325 lakh bales, with production having decreased slightly compared to the previous year’s estimate of 336.60 lakh bales in 2022-23.