As of the end of May, the cumulative market volume of Indian cotton in this year was close to 5 million tons of lint. AGM statistics show that as of June 4th, the total market volume of Indian cotton in this year was about 3.5696 million tons, which means there are still about 1.43 million tons of lint stored in seed cotton warehouses in cotton processing enterprises that have not yet been processed or listed. The CAI data has sparked widespread questioning among private cotton processing companies and cotton traders in India, believing that the value of 5 million tons is low.
A cotton enterprise in Gujarat said that with the approaching of the southwest monsoon, cotton farmers have increased their efforts to prepare for planting, and their demand for cash has increased. In addition, the arrival of the rainy season makes it difficult to store seed cotton. Cotton farmers in Gujarat, Maharashtra and other places have increased their efforts to clear seed cotton warehouses. It is expected that the sales period of seed cotton will be delayed to July and August. Therefore, the total cotton production in India in 2022/23 will reach 30.5-31 million bales (approximately 5.185-5.27 million tons), and the CAI may increase India’s cotton production for this year later.
According to statistics, as of the end of May 2023, the cotton planting area in India reached 1.343 million hectares, a year-on-year increase of 24.6% (of which 1.25 million hectares are in the northern cotton region). Most Indian cotton enterprises and farmers believe that this does not mean that the cotton planting area in India is expected to increase positively in 2023. On the one hand, the cotton area in northern North India is mainly irrigated artificially, but the rainfall in May this year is too much and the hot weather is too hot. Farmers sow according to the moisture content, and the progress is ahead of last year; On the other hand, the cotton planting area in the central cotton region of India accounts for over 60% of the total area of India (farmers rely on the weather for their livelihoods). Due to the delayed landing of the southwest monsoon, it may be difficult to effectively start sowing before late June.
In addition, in the year 2022/23, not only did the purchase price of seed cotton significantly decrease, but the per unit yield of cotton in India also decreased significantly, resulting in very poor overall returns for cotton farmers. In addition, this year’s high prices of fertilizers, pesticides, cotton seeds, and labor continue to operate, and cotton farmers’ enthusiasm for expanding their cotton planting area is not high.
Post time: Jun-13-2023