The Hindu Business Line : Cotton output to grow owing to BT plantation

NEW DELHI: Cotton production may not witness a significant fall despite reduction in acreage by about five lakh hectares in 2008-09, thanks to better yield expected from increasing cultivation of genetically modified Bt-cotton.

Area under cotton cultivation declined to 85.9 lakh hectares as on August 17 from 90.7 lakh hectares on the same period last year, according to government data.

“While area under cultivation has shrunk, it will not have much impact on the output, as more than 80 per cent of farmers have planted Bt-cotton this year,'' President of the Confederation of Indian Textile Industries P D Patodia said.

The acreage under Bt-cotton plantation continues to rise with farmers sowing the transgenic seed in more than 80 per cent of sowing area, compared with about 65 per cent last year.

So far, the government has approved 263 hybrid varieties. The acreage under cotton has come down because of deficient rainfall in some of the growing areas like Maharashtra.

Moreover, floods in Punjab has worsened the situation. While the textile industry is expecting a good yield despite low acreage, it is faced with high cotton prices on the back of strong export demand.

Any setback in the domestic production may give a further jolt to yarn-makers. India produced 315 lakh bales of cotton in 2007-08 but prices saw a sharp increase by over 40 per cent between January and June. – PTI

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