The Cotton Association of India (CAI) has increased its forecast of cotton production for the current 2024–25 season (October–September) to 301.15 lakh bales weighing 170 kg. It predicted 291.35 lakh bales of output in its April 2025 forecast. India produced 327.45 lakh bales of cotton last year.
North India’s cotton production could drop from 45.62 lakh bales to 28.80 lakh bales this season, according to the region-by-region analysis. Production in central India is predicted to drop to 180 lakh bales from 202.21 lakh bales the previous year. CAI stated that cotton production in south India would increase from 73.85 lakh bales to 86.50 lakh bales.
At the end of the current season, the estimated amount of cotton stock would be 48.34 lakh bales, up from 30.19 lakh bales the previous year. The nation may use 305 lakh bales of cotton instead of the 313 lakh bales it used the year before. While imports may increase two-and-a-half times to 39 lakh bales from 15.20 lakh bales, cotton exports are also predicted to decline to 17 lakh bales from 28.36 lakh bales last season.
Concerns are being raised by the ongoing rise in cotton’s minimum support prices (MSP), according to CAI. In addition to distorting market dynamics and impeding the natural price discovery process, higher MSPs also increase textile mill production costs, which could result in higher consumer prices and hurt Indian cotton’s ability to compete globally.
Stakeholders underlined the need for an equitable solution that maintains farmers’ access to fair pricing while maintaining trade and industry’s competitiveness, since this threatens the sustainability of the entire value chain.
