Cotton (kapas) futures on NCDEX may trade on the higher side as production is expected to fall sharply this year. Most farmers have shifted from growing cotton to other remunerative crops such as guar, castor, pulses and millets.
Cotton sowing has fallen from 1.5 million hectares to 1.3 million hectares for the kharif season 2012-13, according to the Union Ministry of Agriculture. Cotton production is expected to decline by 7.8 per cent to 32.2 million bales in the fiscal 2012-13, said CMIE.
Sowing in Gujarat, one of the largest cotton producing states, is trailing at 0.95 million hectares as of July 2. It was at 1.2 million hectares in the same period last year, said the Agriculture Department of Gujarat. Sowing in most of the other cotton growing States has also fallen. In Punjab, it was 60,000 hectares, Rajasthan, 54,000 hectares, and Haryana, 59,000 hectares.
Arrivals have already declined in many markets as farmers and ginners are holding back their stock to get a better price.
The Government has revised textile export target of $40.5 billion for FY’13 against $38 billion fixed at the start of the fiscal.