HYDERABAD: Barely a few months after the Andhra Pradesh government cancelled licenses of some seed companies for their role in distribution of unapproved herbicide tolerant (HT) cotton seeds,
Read MoreThe agriculture ministry has decided not to change cotton seed price after the Delhi High Court ruled that Monsanto Technologies’ patents on a manmade gene used in Bt cotton seed variety Bollgard II were not valid.
Read MoreFor failed crops after a severe pest attack, nearly 9 lakh cotton farmers have approached the Maharashtra government seeking compensation.
Read MoreCotton planting in the country has doubled in terms of area compared to the same period last year. Good monsoon and high prices for cotton have prompted more and more farmers to opt for cotton over pulses and soya, top officials of the Central Institute of Cotton Research (CICR), Nagpur, said.
Read MoreIndian Cotton farmers may get two home-grown BT cotton seeds that they would not have to purchase every year.
Read MoreMumbai: The Director of Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Co (Mahyco), Shirish R Barwale said that the recent cut in BT cotton seed prices is unlikely to provide much relief to farmers as seed cost account for just 5% of the total cost of cultivation..
Read MoreAccording to the Cotton Association of India (CAI) estimation cotton production in 2015-16 to fall to 362 lakh bales of 170 kg each from 382.75 lakh bales in 2014-15, a decline of 5.7%.
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MUMBAI: India may start releasing cotton from government reserves in the first week of February, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, as warehouses in parts of the world's second-largest producer bulge with the fibre.
Spot cotton prices in India have fallen 10 percent to about 30,200 rupees ($491) per candy of 356 kg since the beginning of the crop season that started in October, hit by China's higher output and cuts in purchases.
State-owned Cotton Corp of India (CCI) has bought about 5 million bales (170 kg each) of cotton so far from the current crop and is expected to release the stockpiles in phases through electronic auctions.
It is likely to first use stocks from southern states, where CCI has fewer warehouses and storage space is tighter than in other parts of the country, traders said.
CCI is waiting to see if prices recover before opening any auction, said the source, who did not want to be named as he is not authorised to talk to media.
A trader said CCI could be looking for falling domestic supplies to support or lift local prices.
Daily arrivals across India have dropped to 175,000-185,000 bales (of 170 kg each) a day, from 200,000-252,000 bales a day about a week ago.
"A drop in local supply should give some support to prices now," said Arun Dalal, a trader in the city of Ahmedabad in India's top cotton producing state of Gujarat.
India's output could hit a record 40 million bales this season, according to the country's Cotton Advisory Board.
Cotton, which till last year had been giving good returns to farmers of Gujarat, has left many of them in distress and sparked fears that Saurashtra region may turn into another Vidarbha.
As per official figures, three farmers have committed suicide so far, including a young man who committed self-immolation in Vinchhya sub-marketing yard of the Rajkot district in Saurashtra.
Farmers are agitating for the last one months to press their demand for increasing the minimum support price (MSP) of the cotton saying that they have to incur huge loss due to the present price of Rs 810 per 20 kg.
Farmers are turning to cotton over the last one decade in Gujarat as it is giving good returns to them. As per the state government statistic, in 2001, the area under cotton cultivation was 16 lakh hectares.
Farmers are turning to cotton over the last one decade in Gujarat as it is giving good returns to them. As per the state government statistic, in 2001, the area under cotton cultivation was 16 lakh hectares.
In 2014, the estimated area under cotton cultivation has risen to 30 lakh hectares, said Deputy director H Babaria in the department of agriculture.
The estimated production of cotton this time is going to be around 1.30 lakh bales, officials said.
The excess production of cotton, in addition to slump in demand from overseas has driven the price downwards in open market in comparison to last year.
Vidarbha region in Maharashtra has witnessed many suicides due to failure of crop.
Gujarat government had declared a package of Rs 1,100 crore giving relief to farmers in electricity bills and loan interest rebate, but farmers have rejected the package saying that it is not enough.
Regarding the MSP issue, Patel said that it is up to the Centre to decide the MSP of cotton.
