Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) is planning to procure raw cotton at MSP from the Punjab market. CCI will procure this cotton directly from farmers without any middlemen. Last time, the central agency had done the procurement in 2014-15. The agency will have to settle issues with the strong lobby of arhtiyas in Punjab, who are opposed to direct procurement.
The Union Government had announced the MSP of long staple (27.5-28.5mm) cotton, commonly grown in Punjab, at Rs 5,450 per quintal for 2019-20 (September 1-August 31). After facing inclement weather in July, cotton crop is progressing well and growers feel if no more rains lash the region in the coming days the crop is expected to remain good and they may get a yield of nearly 770kg of lint per hectare.
Raw cotton arrivals have been reported in small quantities in some mandis in the last two days and have fetched rates above the MSP. These are expected to decline when the arrivals increase in the coming weeks.
