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A 20 per cent rise in cotton sowing in Andhra Pradesh has helped to offset the shortfall in area under the fibre crop in Gujarat, the top producing State where scanty rain has affected planting.
Cotton acreage in Saurashtra and Kutch regions of Gujarat has declined on deficit monsoon, triggering concerns in several quarters.
“The shortfall in acreage is not a concern any more as planting has largely picked up in central and south India despite the delay in rains,” said K.R. Kranti, Director of the Nagpur-based Central Institute of Cotton Research. He expected the total area under the fibre crop to be around 120 lakh hectares, almost close to last year’s level.
“Planting is still on in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, where a total of another 5 lakh hectares could come under the crop,” he said.
However, prospects of a good yield would entirely depend on the rains in September and October. “The cotton crop enters the boll formation phase in late September and early October for which rains are crucial,” Kranti said, adding that it was too early to estimate the 2012-13 crop.
Acreage
Last year, cotton acreage stood at a record 121.9 lakh hectares as farmers, lured by attractive returns, had planted more. However, the flip-flop in Government export policy had induced volatility in prices and had prompted farmers to look at other alternatives such as guarseed and soyabean in some areas.
In fact, Rajasthan and Punjab have seen a marginal drop in cotton acreage, where farmers are said to have switched over to guar. Similarly, in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, there has been a switch-over to soyabean, as prices of the oilseed are seeing a bullish trend on global supply squeeze.
Balance sheet
The Cotton Advisory Board has pegged the 2011-12 output at 353 lakh bales against 339 lakh bales in the previous year. Exports are pegged at 127 lakh bales against 76 lakh bales in the previous year. For the current season ending September 2012, India is expected to import 12 lakh bales.
>vishwanath.kulkarni@thehindu.co.in
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