Lower costs spurs cotton exporters deliver almost 60% of Season’s planned shipments within 4 months

Enjoying some real success on the cost advantage in the worldwide market, India has just traded around 29 lakh bales (of 170 kilo in each) of cotton before the end of January 2021, according to the Cotton Association of India (CAI).

Almost 60% of the nation's overall estimated cotton exports were transported within the initial 4 months of the 2020-21 season.

The trade body for cotton has forecasted India's fibre shipments in the 2020-21 season to be about 54 lakh bales. Season range is between October to September. This was higher than the preceding year, 2019-20, by around four lakh bales.

"The export of cotton shipments projected by the CAI as of January 31, 2021 is 29 lakh bales. The CAI forecast shipments of cotton for the season at 54 lakh bales," said Atul Ganatra, President of the CAI, in the January crop estimate provided by the trade body on 8 February 2021.

Highest Exports:

In particular, the statistics indicate that in the first 4 months of the period October 20 to January 21, cotton shipments have become the highest in the recent 3 years. When compared to the identical period in 2018-19, cotton shipments were registered at 24 lakh bales and at 20 lakh bales in 2019-20.

Merchants connected the rise in exports to the reduced prices and improved nature of the initial yield. The benchmark GUJ ICS-105 (29mm) assortment cited at rupees 43,600 a candy (of 356 kilo of refined ginned cotton) in the spot markets, at a level of rupees 40,500 candy on December 5, 2020. The prices floated somewhere in the range of rupees 37,500 and rupees 40,200 during the initial months of the season between October and November 2020.

One of the Ahmedabad exporters said that Indian cotton prices keep on being low when contrasted to the global business markets. "The purchasers are going into new agreements even at the current prices,"added the exporter. Higher supplies led by growing stockpiles from the past season have limited the Indian prices. ICE Cotton prospects cited at 80.74 cents a pound as against India's pace of 75 to 76 cents a pound.

In the meanwhile, in its crop forecast for January month, CAI has maintained the yield size at 360 lakh bales for the year. Be that as it may, of the overall estimated availability of around 499 lakh bales for the season, initial 4 months have recorded a total stockpile of 389.25 lakh bales.

The opening stock at the start of the cotton season on 1 October 2020 was projected at 125 lakh bales. Of the 499 lakh bales of production forecasts, with the exception of 125 lakh bales of opening stock, 360 lakh bales and 14 lakh bales of imports are expected to be crop sizes for the latest season.