Industrial Cluster: Understand The Price Of The First Batch Of Cotton Harvested In Punjab, India

In the cotton crop belt of Punjab, India, the price of cotton picked for the first time exceeded the minimum support price, which made cotton growers happy. However, all buyers are private enterprises, as CCI has not yet made purchases.

On Wednesday, the cotton price in Fazilka, Muktsar, Bathinda, Mansa and other places was 7400-7600 rupees per ton, and the minimum support price of medium quality cotton was 6620 rupees per ton. However, in the neighboring Ganganagar region of Rajasthan, the cotton price has exceeded 8000 rupees per public load.

Gurmeet Singh Cheema, chief agricultural officer of Fazilka region, said: "The threat of pink cotton bollworm exists, but it has been controlled at present. Therefore, the first batch of cotton picked has received a good response. We hope that cotton will be protected from pests in the future, and the harvest rate will be further improved."

It is worth noting that the cotton planting area in Punjab has dropped significantly from 248 thousand hectares last year to 175 thousand hectares, so the yield will eventually decrease based on the area. Bathinda, Mansa, Muktsar and Fazilka are the main cotton planting areas, accounting for nearly 95% of the state's output. Faridkot, Barnala, Sanguru and Moga also grow a small amount of cotton.

"Farmers who have been attacked by the pink cotton bollworm are using sprays. So far, we have only picked cotton for the first time. We hope that the second, third and fourth picking will also be excellent," Cheema added.

So far, about 300000 cwt of cotton has arrived at the cotton belt market. Cotton starts to arrive in the last week of August, and may be purchased in the next two weeks.

The minimum price of long staple cotton is 7020 rupees per unit load.

Jasminder Singh, a middleman from Abohar cotton market, said: "In the first few days, the inventory price of some cotton was 6400 rupees per kilowatt, but the final price improved." In Bareta, a market in Mansa area, the cotton price was 7400 rupees per kilowatt on Wednesday.

Dilbagh Singh, Mansa's chief agricultural officer, said: "This year, the cotton planting area is 25890 hectares. So far, about 10000 tons of cotton has arrived at the market. The current speed is satisfactory." In Muktsar area, the total cotton arrival this year is about 3500 tons, because the cotton planting area has decreased significantly; Hasan Singh, chief agricultural officer of Bathinda region, said that about 7600 tons of cotton arrived at the fairs in the region, and the first batch of cotton picked last year reached 3500 tons.

In Muktsar's market, the cotton price range is 7400-7570 rupees per kilowatt, and in Abohar and Fazilka, the cotton price range is 7400-7600 rupees. Fazilka has the largest cotton planting area, up to 92000 hectares.

Darshan Singh of Abohar region said: "In the market of Ganganagar, the cotton price is 8005 rupees per ton. Ganganagar in Rajasthan is adjacent to Abohar town. But so far, farmers only sell cotton in the market of Punjab. If the pink cotton bollworm disease is controlled, the cotton price may reach 10000 rupees per ton this season."