With textile mills increasingly favoring man-made fibers, India's cotton consumption for the current 2024-25 season is expected to decline by 2 per cent to 30.7 million bales (170 kg each), as per estimates by the Cotton Association of India (CAI).
From its earlier projection of 31.5 million, CAI recently reduced consumption estimates for the current year by 800,000 bales to 30.7 million.
Atul S Ganatra, President, CAI, attributes this to the rising use of man-made fibers such as viscose and polyester by spinning mills, particularly in South India. Also, a severe shortage of laborers is causing spinning mills to operate at slower capacities, further contributing to the decline in cotton use, he notes.
Textile mills are registering better profit margins with viscose, at around 98 per cent, compared to cotton, which yields about 73-75 per cent, explains Ganatra. This is another key reason mills are shifting away from cotton to other fibers, hurting overall consumption.
CAI estimates, cotton crop size during the 2024-25 season to be around 29.135 million bales (170 kg each). By April-end, the total cotton supply was estimated at 32.589 million bales. This includes 26.82 million bales from presses, 2.75 million bales of imports, and opening stocks of 3.019 million bales.
Consumption through April was estimated at 18.5 million bales, with exports at 1 million bales (170 kg). Cotton stocks at the end of April were estimated at 13.089 million bales, comprising 3.5 million bales held by textile mills and the remaining 9.589 million bales with the Cotton Corporation of India, Maharashtra Federation, and other entities (multinational corporations, traders, ginners, exporters), including cotton already sold but not yet delivered.
For the 2024-25 season, the CAI projects India’s cotton imports to increase by 1.78 million bales to 3.3 million bales. Exports for the season are estimated to decline by 2.836 million bales to 1.5 million bales.
Finally, the carryover stocks are estimated to increase from 3.019 million bales last year to 3.254 million bales in the 2025-26 season.
