The Hindu Business Line : Cotton output seen up 21 pc at 165 lakh bales

THE All-India Cotton Traders Association conference held here on Sunday has projected the cotton crop size for the 2003-04 at 165 lakh bales (of 170 kgs each), some 21 per cent higher than the 2002-03 output of 136 lakh bales.

The meet has also arrived at a higher supply and demand of cotton for 2003-04 over the previous year and the carry forward stock is also higher at 29 lakh bales as against previous cotton year's 25.50 lakh bales.

According to the cotton balance sheet released at the conference, the opening stock for 2003-04 has been pegged at 25.50 lakh bales (compared to the last Cotton Advisory Board opening stock figure of 24 lakh bales). Together with 11.50 lakh bales of imports, the total cotton supply is put at 202 lakh bales (191.50 lakh bales). On the consumption side, the mill consumption is put higher at 144 lakh bales (142.50 lakh bales), while the small mill consumption is kept at 11 lakh bales (the same as last year) and the non-mill consumption is pegged lower at 11 lakh bales (against 12 lakh bales). The volume of export for 2003-04 is put at 7 lakh bales compared to 50,000 bales last year). This leaves the carry over stock at 29 lakh bales.

Releasing the crop estimate, the Vice-President of the East India Cotton Association, Mr Sushilkant P. Shah, has projected the total crop area for the 2003-04 season to be slightly higher at 78 lakh hectares as against 75.72 lakh hectares in the previous year. Central cotton zone comprising Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh has shown increased crop area this year at 50.17 lakh hectares (48.47 lakh hectares previously) followed by North zone consisting of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan whose crop area had gone up to 13.52 lakh hectares (against 12.95 hectares). The southern zone has shown a decline in area from 13.77 lakh hectares to 13.54 lakh hectares.

As for the yield, the cotton output from central zone remained higher in 2003-04 at 88.50 lakh bales (72.50 lakh bales) followed by the North zone at 29.50 lakh bales (21 lakh bales) and the South zone at 35 lakh bales (30 lakh bales)

The arrival of the cotton in the market this year (as on February 15) is put at 115 lakh bales as compared to 104 lakh bales by end-February 2003. The trade has also estimated the current year's cotton yield per hectare at 360 kg as against 305 kg in the previous year.