India has finally surpassed China in cotton production and emerged world’s largest cotton producer in the season ended September 30, 2015.
Speaking at the Cotton Association of India’s annual general meeting, Dhiren N Sheth, President, CAI, said the country became the world leader and produced 6.51 million tonnes (mt) of the fibre against 6.48 mt registered by China in the cotton year 2014-15, according to the data released by the International Cotton Advisory Committee.
In a related development, the US Department of Agriculture has predicted that India will retain its top slot for next cotton season by producing 29 million bales or 27 per cent of the global cotton crop though the country’s yield is much below the global average.
However, Sheth said, the acreage is expected to be lower in the 2015-16 season due to the lower realisation for farmers last year. As per the CAI estimates, the cotton crop for the ensuing season is expected to be at last year’s level of 382.75 lakh bales while demand is estimated to grow over four per cent to 315 lakh bales (1 bale equals 170 kg).
Exports during last season halved to about 60 lakh bales against 112 lakh bales in 2013-14. The country will be left with highest closing stocks in the history, said Sheth.
The cotton economy in India witnessed a depressing trend last year, with prices ruling much below the previous cotton season with government agency procuring 93 lakh bales as part of minimum support price mechanism, he said.
Latest data from ICAC show the global ending stock is estimated to have risen by nine per cent to 22 million tonnes, reflecting a stock-to-use ratio of 90 per cent, he said. From 2010-11 to the end of 2014-15, world has accumulated 13.4 million tonnes of stock due to production exceeding consumption. In 2015-16, stocks are projected to decrease five per cent to just below 21 million tonnes reducing the excess volume by about one million tonnes, said Sheth.