Recent News

CAI Urges Centre for Cotton Price Support SchemeThe Cotton Association of India (CAI) has renewed calls for the introduction of a price deficiency payment scheme for the cotton sector, as market prices have remained below the Minimum Support Price (MSP) through much of the 2024–25 season. The bearish trend has compelled the state-run Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) to procure over 100 […]At a recent stakeholders’ meeting, CAI highlighted that the consistent hike in MSPs is distorting natural price discovery and straining the cotton value chain. For the 2025 kharif season, MSP for medium staple cotton has been raised to Rs 7,710 per quintal from Rs 7,121 last year, while the rate for long staple cotton has increased to Rs 8,110 from Rs 7,521. However, weak global demand and declining prices have kept domestic market rates under pressure.Industry stakeholders voiced concern that rising MSPs are inflating production costs for textile mills, reducing India’s global competitiveness and increasing the risk of consumer price escalation. CAI President Atul S. Ganatra stated that while supporting farmers remains critical, a more balanced approach—such as a Bhavantar-style price deficiency payment mechanism—is needed to ensure sector-wide sustainability. Suggestions also included revisiting the CCI’s sales policy to align better with market realities.Suresh Kotak, Chairman of the Textile Advisory Group, endorsed the idea of policy recalibration and assured that the suggestions would be taken up with the government.On the production front, CAI has pegged India’s 2024–25 cotton crop at 301.15 lakh bales (170 kg each), with imports projected to more than double to 39 lakh bales, up from 15.2 lakh bales last season. Domestic consumption is estimated at 305 lakh bales, slightly down from 313 lakh bales last year, while exports are likely to fall to 17 lakh bales from 28.36 lakh bales. Closing stocks are expected to rise significantly to 48.34 lakh bales, compared to 30.19 lakh bales in the previous season.   read more :    Rupee Gains 11 Paise, Opens at 86.62/USD

 Rupee opens 11 paise up at 86.62 against dollar as crude easesThe currency opened at 86.62 against the dollar after ending the previous session at 86.73.read more :- Key Highlights: CAI National Crop Committee Meeting – 18/06/25

CAI National Crop Review – 18 June 2025India’s Cotton Production: Revised upward by 9.80 lakh bales to 301.15 lakh bales (170 kg each).State-wise Production Increases:* Upper Rajasthan: +0.50 lakh bales (10.10)* Lower Rajasthan: +1.00 lakh bales (9.40)* North India: +1.30 lakh bales (28.80)* Gujarat: +5.00 lakh bales (76.00)* Maharashtra: +3.00 lakh bales (85.00)* Andhra Pradesh: +0.50 lakh bales (11.50)Cotton Consumption: Reduced by 2 lakh bales to 307 lakh bales due to:* Shift to polyester/viscose (esp. in South India)* Labour shortages slowing mill operations* Higher realization from viscose (98%) vs. cotton (73–75%)Trade Updates:* Exports: Up by 2 lakh bales (to 17 lakh); 15.25 lakh bales exported till May.* Imports: Increased by 6 lakh bales (to 39 lakh); 26.25 lakh bales received till May; ~3.25 lakh bales arriving monthly.Closing Stock: Expected to rise to 48.34 lakh bales by 30/09/25 – highest in years.Pressing & Arrivals (Oct–May):* Total arrivals: 285.09 lakh bales* Daily average pressing: 1.16 lakh bales* Consumption in 8 months: 208 lakh bales (~26 lakh/month)Mill Stocks (as of 31/05/25):* In-mill: 33 lakh bales (45-day avg. stock)* North: 60–75 days* South & Central: 30 days* Trade stock: 85.28 lakh bales* With CCI: 79.21 lakh (70.21 unsold, 9.01 sold but pending lift)Government Estimate: Revised 2024–25 production down by 5 lakh bales to 294.25 lakh bales (as of 10 March).Outlook:* CCI may carry forward 25–30 lakh bales to next season due to weak domestic futures and high imports.* Maharashtra yield halved due to poor weather, especially in Khandesh.* Telangana pressing expected to rise to 48 lakh bales (from 30 & 15 in past years).* Cotton sowing likely to increase 5–7% due to higher MSP (₹8,110) and timely rains.* Early arrivals expected from September 15 in North & South India.* Industry awaits India–US trade deal; focus on duty-free import quotas. read more :- Rupee lower 18 Paise Against USD, Closes at 86.73

The Indian rupee on thursday lower 18 paise to close at 86.73 per dollar, while it opened at 86.55 in the morning.At close, the Sensex was down 82.79 points or 0.10 percent at 81,361.87, and the Nifty was down 18.80 points or 0.08 percent at 24,793.25. About 928 shares advanced, 2907 shares declined, and 133 shares unchanged. read more :- Tamil Nadu: Cotton imports double, production hits 15-year low

Cotton Output Falls, Imports Rise in Tamil NaduChennai : Cotton imports in April-May more than doubled compared to the same period last year after domestic production hit a 15-year low. The industry wants the import duty to be removed by the end of the crop year as it feels it will impact textile exports. The country imported raw and waste cotton worth $102 million in May as against $43.8 million in the same month last year, a 133 per cent rise. A total of $189 million worth of cotton was imported during April-May this fiscal, compared with $81.7 million last year. Imports have risen 131 per cent in the last two months.Cotton production in the current crop year is expected to be a 15-year low at 294 million bales. K., general secretary of the South India Mills Association, said the imports will be 15-year low. Selvaraju said, "Usually India produces 300 to 340 lakh bales of cotton and the last time the country produced less than 300 lakh bales was in 2008-09 at 290 lakh bales. Then the consumption was 229 lakh bales. But now the consumption has increased to 318 lakh bales." Due to low production, cotton prices have gone up and are 12 to 20 per cent higher than international prices. The government has also increased the minimum support price for cotton.Despite the 11 per cent duty, the industry prefers to buy cotton from foreign markets due to the price difference. "Also, the realisation of imported cotton is better due to less contamination," said Chandrima Chatterjee, general secretary of the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry. According to her, imports are likely to remain high in the coming months due to the decrease in production."The industry wants the government to reduce the duty by the end of the crop year in October. This will improve the availability of cotton for downstream industries. Higher prices due to import duty will reduce the competitiveness of Indian textiles and apparels and reduce exports of textile products," Selvaraju said.read more :-Rupee falls 8 paise at open to 86.55 against US dollar

The currency opened at 86.55 against the US dollar after ending the previous session at 86.47.The rupee opened 8 paise down on June 19 as the dollar index surged after the US Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged and crude oil prices continued to gain with no end in sight for the Israel-Iran conflict.read more :- INR Drops 12 Paise, Closes at 86.47 per Dollar

The Indian rupee on wednesday lower 12 paise to close at 86.47 per dollar, while it opened at 86.35 in the morning.At close, the Sensex was down 138.64 points or 0.17 percent at 81,444.66, and the Nifty was down 41.35 points or 0.17 percent at 24,812.05. About 1486 shares advanced, 2342 shares declined, and 131 shares unchanged.read more :-  Maharashtra: Cotton acreage likely to decrease this year

Cotton Output Area May Shrink in MaharashtraAurangabad : Farmers of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar had to sell the cotton stored at home for several months at a price lower than the guaranteed price. As a result, after the price expectations of the farmers were dashed, this year it seems that they have preferred maize coming in three months instead of cotton coming in four months. Last year, the area sown under cotton in three districts of Marathwada, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jalna and Beed, was 9 lakh 18 thousand 4 hectares.Last season, the guaranteed price of cotton was Rs 7 thousand 121. But in reality, farmers had to sell cotton to private ginning professionals at a price of about Rs 6 and a half thousand. Many farmers stored cotton at home for a long time, hoping that prices would rise. But till the end did not get the expected price. Apart from this, facing the problem of not getting laborers to pick cotton, farmers had to compromise with the market price. Farmers were not able to bear the cost of spraying along with the cost of harvesting, spraying etc.After the Corona period, the price of cotton at the international level had reached Rs 13,000 to 14,000 per quintal. After the corona epidemic subsided, the demand for cotton also increased at the international level. As a result, the prices were also good. There was a big purchase by the Central Cotton Corporation. But after that the prices were not that good. This year, only 40 percent sowing has been done in the three districts of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar division till Monday. Although 60 percent sowing has been done in Beed, but more farmers are preferring tur, maize, soybean and sugarcane instead of cotton.Every year more cotton was sown in the village. This year, maize has been sown in 80 percent of the area in our village Shivrai (Oil. Vaijapur). There has been a big problem of laborers for cotton. Laborers have to be brought from Madhya Pradesh for harvesting. The prices of cotton were also not reasonable. Compared to that, maize is reasonable and the crop is ready in three months. - Bhausaheb Patil, farmer.Many farmers of Vaijapur taluka have initially been attracted to crops like maize and pigeon pea instead of cotton. They are citing the problem of not getting laborers for harvesting cotton. Maize is being seen as a crop that is ready in three months. - Vishal Salve, Agriculture Officer, Vaijapur.50 thousand hectares of area likely to decreaseInitial estimates in Sambhajinagar district are that this year the area under cotton will decrease by 50 thousand hectares and in return the area under maize, pigeon pea and soybean will increase. The area is expected to decrease only after looking at the sale of cotton seeds. - Dr. Prakash Deshmukh, Joint Director, Agriculture.read more :- CCI buys 100 lakh bales cotton at minimum support price

100 Lakh Cotton Bales Procured by CCICCI purchases 100 lakh bales at MSP, sells 35 lakh bales; imports rise, Indian cotton faces competitiveness issuesThe Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) has purchased close to 100 lakh bales at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) from farmers in the current cotton season and has sold 35 lakh bales in the market.Lalit Kumar Gupta, the CCI chairman and Managing Director, told The Hindu on Tuesday (June 17, 2025) that the CCI opened more than 500 centres in the cotton-growing areas since the beginning of the season in October 2024.“The demand for cotton is not much from the textile mills, and if the current market situation persists, the CCI may purchase more cotton at MSP next season,” he said.Official sources said the outgo for CCI this year for the MSP operations was ₹37,500 crores. With 8 % increase in the MSP for the next cotton season (October 2025-September 2026), the outgo will be higher if the CCI buys more cotton from the farmers at MSP.Meanwhile, cotton imports saw a 133 % jump last month compared with last May and a 131 % increase in value in April-May 2025 compared with the same period last year.Nishant Asher, secretary of the Indian Cotton Federation, said International cotton is almost 8 % cheaper than Indian cotton. With the 11% import duty, Indian spinners are getting cotton from other countries at 1%-2% lower prices. However, they are unable to compete in the international market. The import duty is a major deterrent for the competitiveness of the Indian textile industry, he said.read more :- Rupee falls 11 paise at open to 86.35 against US dollar

 Rupee opens 11 paise down against dollar at 86.35 The rupee opened 11 paise down on June 18 at 86.35 against the US dollar on outflow worries as crude prices jumped 4 percent amid worsening military conflict between Israel and Iran, which entered its sixth day.read more :- India's textile and apparel exports rise 5% to $6.1 billion in April-May 2025

India’s textile trade grows to $6.1 billion in early FY26India’s textile and apparel (T&A) exports rose 5.36% year-on-year to $6.18 billion during the first two months of FY2025–26 (April–May 2025), driven by strong growth in apparel shipments even as textile exports remained largely flat.Apparel exports recorded robust double-digit growth of 12.80%, reaching $2.88 billion, compared to $2.55 billion in the same period last year. In contrast, textile exports slipped marginally by 0.39% to $3.29 billion.The trend continued through May 2025, with apparel maintaining strong momentum while textile shipments showed subdued performance.According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the share of textiles and apparel in India’s total merchandise exports increased to 8% during April–May 2025 and further to 8.25% in May, underlining the sector’s growing contribution to external trade.Within the textile segment, performance remained mixed. Exports of cotton yarn, fabrics, made-ups, and handloom products fell 1.39% to $1.93 billion in April–May. Meanwhile, exports of man-made yarn, fabrics, and made-ups rose 1.41% to $793.27 million. Carpet exports performed better, growing 2.07% to $246.93 million.In May alone, cotton yarn, fabrics, made-ups, and handloom exports dropped 4.29% to $966.75 million, while man-made textile exports declined 1.05% to $409.48 million. Carpet exports, however, continued to grow, rising 1.01% to $132.74 million.Imports also showed a sharp increase. Raw cotton and waste imports surged 131.30% to $189.18 million in April–May 2025, compared to the same period last year. Imports of textile yarn, fabrics, and made-ups rose 18.92% to $413.81 million.In May, raw cotton imports more than doubled, increasing 133.14% to $102.3 million, while yarn and fabric imports rose 18.68% to $220.69 million.For context, India’s apparel exports grew 10.03% to $15.99 billion in FY25, while textile exports rose 3.61% to $20.62 billion. In FY24, total T&A exports stood at $34.43 billion, down 3.24% from FY23.Industry experts attributed the rise in raw cotton imports to higher domestic prices, driven by elevated minimum support prices (MSP) and import duties.Sanjay K Jain, Chairman of the ICC National Textile Committee, noted that India has achieved strong double-digit apparel export growth in recent months, while also seeing rising raw cotton imports due to price disparities between domestic and global markets.read more :- Kharif Sowing Up by 1.48 Lakh Hectares, Cotton Slightly Down