Cotton prices remained unchanged on Tuesday even as delay in monsoon raised concerns about sowing.

The Sankar -6 variety was traded at Rs 37,000-38,500 a candy of 356 kg. Low-grade cotton sold at Rs 29,000-32,000 a candy. Raw cotton fetched Rs 800-850 for a maund of 20 kg. While about 7,000 bales arrived in Gujarat, 12,000-13,000 bales arrived in the rest of the country. The Kalyan variety sold at Rs 22,000-24,000 a candy.

Thirty to 40 truckloads of raw cotton that arrived in Gujarat from Maharashtra fetched Rs 600-650 a maund .

Traders in Rajkot said though delay in monsoon had checked the fall in prices, the market expects it to drop further. There are no bulk orders at present as buying remains hand-to-mouth, they said.

The market is concerned as sowing has dropped by half so far this year due to paucity of rains in Gujarat. Traders hope it will gain momentum after monsoon begins.

“Cotton has been sown in only 5.76 lakh hectares of area so far in Gujarat compared to 17.4 lakh hectares during the corresponding period last year,” a senior official of the State Agriculture Department said.

Cotton sowing begins in June and continues till the end of July. The State had sown the crop in an area of 26 lakh hectares last year, the official said.

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