Cotton planting for the 2026-27 marketing season (October to September) has been higher. However, scattered rainfall and the growing conditions in each of the cotton-growing States will determine the crop size for the new cotton season, said Nishant Asher, secretary of the Indian Cotton Federation, at the annual meeting of the Association held on Wednesday (September 30).
On the market front, international prices, currency value, price movement of other fibres and various other factors will continue to influence the demand for cotton, he added.
Speaking at the meeting, president of the Federation J. Thulasidharan said the total cotton production for the 2025-26 that ended on September 30 this year stabilised at 320 lakh to 325 lakh bales, with steady arrivals from the southern States and Maharashtra.
Over the past two months, domestic cotton prices surged by nearly 25%, driven by deficit rainfall in Gujarat and Telangana and fears about the standing crop. Global ICE benchmarks have softened from earlier 86-cent averages down toward the 80–82 cent range now. “This widening disparity between elevated domestic prices and softer overseas futures has squeezed spinning mill margins and hampered downstream export competitiveness,” he said.
The national average yield has drifted downward from 565 kg per hectare in 2013–14 to around 430 kg per hectare today. It is imperative for the stakeholders to work for reversing this yield stagnation.
The government should provide total relief from import duty for cotton and establish preferential, low-interest credit windows for seasonal cotton procurement by ginners and spinning mills.
Mr. Thulasidharan, Managing Director of Rajaratna Mills, was re-elected president of the Association.
P. Nataraj, Managing Director of KPR Mill, and Aditya Krishna Pathy, Managing Director of Lakshmi Mills, were re-elected vice presidents and Nishant Asher of Ravji Shamji Asher was elected again as secretary of the Association.
Published – October 02, 2026 09:04 pm IST
