Cottontrade season is expected to begin on a positive note inAndhra Pradesh. While early market reports have indicated poor yields from dominant states likeMadhya Pradesh, Gujarat,Maharashtraand Karnakata, the crop area in AP has jumped by 30% with production expected to rise by nearly 15 per cent.
In normal conditions, the increase in crop area and production would have adversely hit farmers. However, AP farmers are likely to gain big as the crop in neighbouring states were damaged due to heavy rains and floods, which in turn is expected to increase demand for the stock from state farmers.
Notwithstanding the favourable market conditions, Cotton Corporation of India has set the stage ready for procurement of stock from growers in AP. CCI has brought as many
as 34 procurement centres in 14 cotton growing districts in the state into operation. The Centre has already announced 6,380 as minimum support price for the current season, which is nearly 355 more than the MSP granted last season.
According to inputs from the Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture department, cotton cultivated area has gone up by nearly 30 per cent across the state as many farmers went for its cultivation in large extents.
The agriculture Marketing department is also coordinating with CCI to extend support to growers at cotton procurement centres.