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Late sowing, poor monsoon dry up cotton arrivals

Late sowing and a poor monsoon delayed harvesting, bringing cotton arrivals down by 33% in the marketing year that started in October.

According to CCI, arrivals fell 33% in October to 8,69,000 bales

Late sowing and a poor monsoon delayed harvesting, bringing cotton arrivals down by 33% in the marketing year that started in October.

Supplies from the new crop dropped to 8,69,000 bales until October 28, compared with 1.3 million bales a year earlier, showed the latest data by the state-run Cotton Corporation Of India (CCI). One bale equals 170 kg. Cotton planting in India usually starts with the arrival of monsoon in June and picks up with the progress of the seasonal showers.

The harvesting usually starts around mid-September.

Key regions of Gujarat and Maharashtra, the country’s top two producers, witnessed below-normal monsoons till mid-August, which delayed sowing and threatened yield prospects. Consequently, cotton output in India–the world’s second-biggest supplier–is projected to decline 5.4% in 2012-13 to 33.4 million bales, according to the state-backed Cotton Advisory Board (CAB). The agriculture ministry has also recently forecast a crop size of 33.4 million bales for 2012-13.

?The delay in showers after August improved cotton output prospects, and the output forecast (of 33.4 million bales) seems pretty much achievable,” said a government official.

The country has received 8% less than the normal monsoon showers, bridging a 30% deficit until July.

“At this stage, the lower arrivals can be attributed mainly to the delay in harvesting. But going forward, maybe in the second half of the marketing year, supplies may drop due to the expected drop in yield,” said a senior government official.

Lower supplies are also expected to drag down exports, already under pressure due to falling prices overseas following low Chinese demand.

After a record 12.9 million bales of exports last year, cotton shipments are expected to drop by around 45% to 7 million bales in 2012-13, according to the CAB.

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First published on: 31-10-2012 at 00:20 IST
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