With the price of good quality extra-long staple cotton expected to be over around Rs 6,000 to Rs 6,200 per quintal in December and January next, the farmers are advised to take sowing decision accordingly.
The Price Forecasting Scheme in Tamil Nadu Agricultural University has analysed the cotton prices prevailed in Konganapuram Regulated market in the state for the last 10 years and arrived at the price behaviour.
In Tamil Nadu, cotton was grown in an area of 0.1 million ha with production of 0.53 million bales (170 kg a bale) during 2014-15 in major cotton producing districts of Perambalur, Salem, Trichy, Dharmapuri, Ariyalur and Cuddalore.
Quoting trade sources, the analysis said that the area of cotton in India may decline up to 35 per cent as the farmers have shifted to crops like groundnut, pulses, paddy and sugarcane.
The white fly attack in major cotton growing regions during last season and the above normal rainfall during monsoon as per the weather forecast had made the farmers to go for other crops, the analysis said.