The Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) has begun registering farmers for cotton procurement for the current season across Vidarbha.
Registration is being conducted at 33 procurement centres spread across eight districts—Akola, Amravati, Buldana, Chandrapur, Nagpur, Wardha, Washim, and Yavatmal. Farmers can enroll at these centres to sell their produce under the government procurement system.
For this season, CCI has announced a guaranteed Minimum Support Price (MSP) of ₹7,020 per quintal for long staple cotton and ₹6,620 per quintal for medium staple cotton.
District-wise, the procurement centres include seven in Akola, two in Amravati, five in Buldana, three in Chandrapur, two in Nagpur, six in Wardha, two in Washim, and six in Yavatmal. These centres operate under the Akola divisional office, while arrangements for other cotton-growing districts are being managed by the Aurangabad division.
Actual procurement is expected to begin only after Diwali this year. Due to delayed rains, sowing was pushed back, and the cotton season has not yet fully commenced. Currently, picking is limited to areas where sowing took place earlier, around May or June.
Market prices remain subdued, with new cotton trading between ₹6,500 and ₹6,700 per quintal, while old stock is fetching around ₹7,200. Farmers are closely monitoring price trends, as their selling decisions will depend on how rates behave once arrivals increase.
In recent years, government procurement had slowed due to favourable open market prices. However, if market rates remain low this season, a shift back towards CCI procurement is likely.
