Cotton arrival starts, Punjab farmers get up to ₹6,100/qtl
BATHINDA: Cotton growers in Punjab are elated as they are getting up to ₹6,100 per quintal for their produce as the harvest started arriving in mandis across the state which is hopeful of a bumper crop this time.
More than 5,300 quintal crop arrived since Saturday at in markets of various cotton-growing districts in the Malwa region. Officials in the state agriculture department said initial buying trend is quite encouraging. The minimum support price (MSP) for cotton is fixed at as ₹5,450 per quintal this year.
Swaran Singh, district mandi officer, Fazilka, said till Wednesday evening, cotton prices fluctuated between ₹5,651 and ₹6,100 per quintal. The district has recorded the highest arrival of cotton at 4,091 quintals so far, he added.
Harpal Singh, a cotton grower from Bathinda, said they are expecting remunerative prices when the crop starts arriving in the market in bulk.
Om Setia, president of the cotton arhtiya association, Fazilka, one of the largest in Punjab, said the private buyers are paying a handsome price to the best quality cotton produce. “Various industries buy cotton. While the yarn industry needs lint, seeds are required by oil and animal feed manufacturers,” he added.
This year, a total of 3.93 lakh hectare land is under cotton cultivation in eight Malwa districts —Bathinda, Mansa, Muktsar, Fazilka, Barnala, Moga, Faridkot and Sangrur.
Officials said the Cotton Corporation of India, a central agency, may buy the produce if the private players offer less than the MSP in the coming weeks. State director agriculture Sutantar Kumar Airi said full-scale harvesting will start after September 15.
“Punjab is expected to have a record cotton production after several years. It is a result of the coordinated efforts of the scientists and the government,” he added.
Chief agriculture officer (Bathinda) Gurditta Singh Brar cautioned that climatic conditions at the fag end of cotton harvesting will be crucial.
“So far, the environment in the state remained favourable in Bathinda, where more than 1.45 lakh hectares land in under cotton cultivation and the fact that no pest attack was reported on the crop. Much depends upon the climatic conditions when the cotton harvest is at its peak,” he added.