Unlike Pakistan: India cotton output could fall 7.5pc on lower plantings
Business
Yield in Pakistan is projected to be well over double when compared with last year
MUMBAI/LAHORE (Reuters/Web Desk) – India's cotton production in 2023/24 is likely to fall 7.5 per cent from a year earlier to 29.5 million bales on lower planted area and as El Nino weather hit productivity, a leading trade body said on Tuesday.
Imports could rise to 2.2 million bales in the marketing year that started on Oct. 1, up from the last year's 1.25m bales, Cotton Association of India (CAI) said in a statement.
This Reuters report is in complete contrast to what Pakistan a massive over twofold increase in cotton yield as it has been estimated that the production for the 2023-24 season may cross 11 million bales harvested from an area covering 2.4 million hectares.
Read more: Cash-starved Pakistan gets ready for bumper cotton crop
IMPACTS
However, one has to see what impact the lower production in India would have on global prices as the US Department of Agriculture had predicted that the crop in China was anticipated to shrink by 3.7m bales in the 2023-24 season due to cooler than normal temperatures early in the growing season in China's Xinjiang region, which could limit yield potential.
Read more:Amid alarming food inflation: El Nino to suppress wheat, rice, palm oil harvest in Asia
PRODUCTION IN PAKISTAN
Earlier, it was reported that cotton arrivals in Pakistan recorded a 27.7pc jump till September 30 as compared to September 15.
According to the Pakistan Cotton Ginner’s Association (PCGA), total cotton arrivals had swelled to 5.025m million bales compared to 3.934 million bales recorded on September 15, 2023, an increase of 1.091 million bales.
On a year-on-year (YoY) basis, cotton arrival surged by more than 71pc, when compared to 2.936 million bales registered on Sept 30, 2022.
In 2022, flash floods in Pakistan had devastated large swathes of agricultural land in the country, especially in Sindh and Balochistan, impacting cotton crop production, which witnessed a 34pc year-on-year decline.
