Cotton Cultivation in Punjab Falls to 80,000 Hectares; National Production Declines Over Six Years
By jayesh chouhan 2026-07-27 12:09:08
Cotton Cultivation in Punjab Shrinks to 80,000 Hectares; Nationwide Production Declines Over Six Years
Bathinda: Cotton cultivation in Punjab is steadily declining, with the area under cultivation dropping to a record low of approximately 80,000 hectares in the 2026-27 season. Data presented by Union Minister of State for Textiles Pabitra Margherita in response to a question by Rajya Sabha MP Pramod Tiwari reveals a consistent decline in both cotton acreage and production across the country over the past six years.
According to data from an April 2026 meeting of the committee on cotton production and consumption, the total area under cotton cultivation in the country stood at 132.85 lakh hectares in 2020-21, falling to 114.82 lakh hectares by 2025-26. During the same period, cotton production dropped from 352.48 lakh bales to 290.91 lakh bales (one bale weighs 170 kg).
A decline in cotton productivity has also been recorded at the national level. Production per hectare fell from 451 kg in 2020-21 to 431 kg in 2025-26, although productivity had reached 443 kg per hectare in 2022-23.
The decline has been more pronounced in Punjab. The state's cotton acreage stood at 1.19 lakh hectares in 2025-26 but shrank to just 80,000 hectares in 2026-27. Although the state government had set a target of 1.25 lakh hectares to promote cotton cultivation, farmers achieved only about 64 percent of this goal. Experts attribute the shrinking cotton area to farmers shifting towards other crops that offer better returns. The decline in cotton production has also impacted the textile industry. There has been a significant rise in raw cotton imports to meet the demands of the domestic industry; imports increased from 5,62,224 tonnes in 2024-25 to 10,13,455 tonnes in 2025-26.
The Union Minister attributed the drop in production primarily to changes in land use and farmers shifting towards alternative crops. He stated that the government is taking several measures to support the textile industry. These include an exemption on the 11 percent import duty for raw cotton from June 1 to October 31, as well as the continuation of duty exemptions on the import of high-quality extra-long staple cotton.
