India’s 2017-18 cotton exports are likely to jump nearly 30 per cent from the year before to a four-year high.
Higher international prices would drive up shipments.

The country has exported 6.3 million bales so far in the marketing year that started on October 1. India shipped 5.82 million bales of cotton overseas last marketing year.

Increased supply from India could drag on a rally in international prices for the commodity and would likely compete with shipments to Asia from exporters like the United States, Brazil and Australia.

The Indian rupee has fallen more than six per cent in 2018, making Indian cotton cheaper for overseas buyers.

Pakistan, Bangladesh, China and Vietnam are the main buyers of the Indian fiber.

Indian cotton is being offered around 84 to 86 cents per lb on a cost and freight basis to buyers in Bangladesh and Vietnam, compared to over 92 cents from the United States and Brazil.

And a pick-up in local consumption amid higher exports is likely to erode India's cotton stockpile.

India’s cotton consumption is likely to rise 5.3 per cent in 2017-18 from the year before.

The country could end the 2017-18 season with closing stocks of less than two million tons, the lowest in decades.