A dip in sowing area and apprehensions of low yield due to the recent spell of extremely heavy rainfall have pushed market prices of cotton up in the region, raising hopes of farmers to get good returns on their harvest.
Prices of cotton or kapaas (unginned seed cotton) have been rallying since the last week of August, going past the 8,500-per quintal mark at the agricultural produce market committee (APMC) mandis in Gujarat. This is the highest figure in around three years, according to traders.
Price of cotton in Rajkot APMC, one of the biggest cotton markets of Gujarat, is in the range of Rs 7,500-Rs 8,525 per quintal as compared to the model price (price at which maximum quantity of cotton is sold on a given day) of Rs 8,125. A month ago, on August 17, the prices were in the Rs 7,400-Rs 7,935 range as against the model price of Rs 7,600. A month prior to that, the prices ranged between Rs 7,500 and Rs 8,000, while the model price was Rs 7,750. During the peak cotton marketing phase, on April 18, the prices were between Rs 6,400 and Rs, 7,670 while Rs 7,400 was the model price.
“Prices have increased by an average Rs 500 per quintal since the week-long spell of extremely heavy rainfall, which began in the last week of August. The rains have led to concerns that cotton yields will stay low and delay the arrival of the new crop by three-four weeks. Farmers who have holding capacity are not willing to sell their cotton harvest at the price they did last year. Therefore, the prices are on a rising curve,” Amit Garala, a cotton trader of Gondal, said.
Madhu Jasani, a cotton trader of Rajkot, said higher prices of cotton-seed oil and de-oiled cake (DOC) of cotton, which is premium cattle feed concentrate, are also adding to the concerns about low yields. “Firstly, the cotton acreage has decreased by around three lakh hectares and the spell of recent rains have led to worries about drop in yield and delayed harvest. This has led to an uptick in prices and the rally is supported equally by increase in cotton-seed oils and cotton DOC prices,” said Jasani.
Prices of a 15-kilo cotton seed oil tin have been in the range of Rs 1,900 to Rs 2,000 while the price of cotton DOC has been hovering around Rs 18,000 for a 50-kg bag.
The price of cotton seeds, which account for around two-thirds of the weight of cotton, has increased by around Rs 750 and has touched the level of Rs 4,000 per quintal, said Garala.
Cotton and groundnut are the main Kharif cash crops in Gujarat with the state being the largest producer of these two agricultural commodities in India.
According to latest sowing data released by the Directorate of Agriculture (DAG) of Gujarat on Tuesday, farmers in Gujarat have sown cotton in 23.65 lakh hectares (lh). This is significantly lower when compared to 26.82 lh recorded in 2023 Kharif season and around 95% of the previous three seasons’ average sowing area of 24.95 lh.
Cotton prices had soared to Rs 12,500 in the 2020-21 marketing season. However, it slid to around Rs 8,000 in 2022-23 and to around Rs 7,000 in 2023-24.
The uptick in prices has given some solace to farmers who are apprehending yield losses. “The week-long spell of heavy rains meant that my cotton has shed buds and flowers and switched to survival mode from reproduction mode. Only some cotton bolls are left. The new flush will take a while and by that time, pink bollworm may attack my crop,” Jeram Mitharapa (50), a 20-bigha (6.25 bigha make one hectare) farmer in Suredrangar’s Chuda, said, adding, “Given the increase in cultivation costs and lower yields, Rs 10,000 could be a remunerative price for farmers this year.”
Mithapara has sown cotton in 15 bigha and vegetables in the balance five bigha. Many farmers, meanwhile, have increased their groundnut acreage while decreasing that of cotton. Manish Sheladiya (42), a 30-bigha farmer from Thordi village in Amreli district’s Savarkundla taluka is one such, having reduced his cotton area to just five bigha this year from the previous year’s 20 bigha while expanding his groundnut sowing area to 25 this year from 10 the previous season. “Last year, pink bollworm and rains towards the fag end of monsoon damaged my cotton crop. I could hardly harvest 1.5 quintals per hectare of cotton and realised a price of Rs 7,000. Groundnut offers better returns at an average price of Rs 6,000. But I can’t switch to groundnut entirely as that crop is vulnerable to wild boars and blue bulls as against cotton,” says Sheladiya.
Surendranagar and Amreli are the largest cotton-growing districts of Gujarat, having recorded sowing of this fibre crop in four lakh and 2.98 lh area respectively.
Meanwhile, the sowing of groundnut has gone up to 19.10 lh from 16.35 lh the previous year, an increase of more than 2.75 lh. The overall sowing in the state stands at 83.32 lh, which is around 97% of the previous three years’ average total sowing area of 85.58 lh, the DAG data shows.
A farmer does tilling between rows of cotton in a village in Rajkot on Sunday. (Express Photo by Gopal Kateshiya) 
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