Although cotton sowing is still ongoing and may increase, it is unclear if it will reach last year’s acreage of 123.42 lakh hectares. The ministry has set a target of 129.93 lakh hectares for the current kharif season.

The current sowing area is also lower than the normal area for the same period over the last five years, which is noted at 106.850 lakh hectares.

India’s two prominent cotton-growing states, Gujarat and Maharashtra, have reported lower acreage as of July 18 this year. Gujarat’s area has reduced from 25.398 lakh hectares to 20.986 lakh hectares. The acreage in Maharashtra has also decreased from 38.333 lakh hectares to 37.566 lakh hectares.

Punjab’s area has reduced by more than half, dropping from 2.14 lakh hectares to 1 lakh hectare compared to the same period last year. Interestingly, the area in non-conventional state Odisha has also reduced from 1.459 lakh hectares to 1.352 lakh hectares. In Haryana, cotton sowing has slowed down to 4.760 lakh hectares from 6.650 lakh hectares. Rajasthan’s area has decreased from 7.733 lakh hectares to 4.949 lakh hectares, and Tamil Nadu’s area has come down from 0.078 lakh hectares to 0.047 lakh hectares.

However, cotton sowing has increased in four out of the 11 states. The area in Andhra Pradesh has risen to 1.620 lakh hectares (from 1.320 lakh hectares last year), Telangana to 15.228 lakh hectares (from 14.138 lakh hectares last year), Karnataka to 6.090 lakh hectares (from 2.447 lakh hectares last year), and Madhya Pradesh to 6.080 lakh hectares (from 5.790 lakh hectares last year).

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)