SIMA's Call: Cotton Farmers Urged to Sell Stocks Pre-Monsoon for Better Prices

The Southern India Mills Association (SIMA), representing spinning mills in South India, has advised farmers to sell their cotton stocks before the onset of the monsoon in order to obtain better prices.

Ravi Sam, the Chairman of SIMA, explained that ginning cotton during the rainy season would be challenging, and the quality of cotton might deteriorate, resulting in lower prices.

However, Sam mentioned that cotton prices are expected to remain stable until the end of June. On May 2, cotton prices were at Rs 62,000 per candy (356 kg), but they have now dropped to Rs 56,500.

The price of kapas (seed cotton) has also decreased to Rs 7,000 per quintal compared to over Rs 8,200 between December 2022 and February 2023. Nevertheless, the current prices are still 11% higher than the minimum support price of Rs 6,080.

According to the Committee on Cotton Production and Consumption, this season's cotton crop is estimated to be 337 lakh bales, with 272 lakh bales already arriving in the market. Additionally, around 10 lakh bales of summer cotton, cultivated in Tamil Nadu and a few other states, are expected to be available in the coming months.

Ravi Sam, the Chairman of SIMA, explained that ginning cotton during the rainy season would be challenging, and the quality of cotton might deteriorate, resulting in lower prices.

However, Sam mentioned that cotton prices are expected to remain stable until the end of June. On May 2, cotton prices were at Rs 62,000 per candy (356 kg), but they have now dropped to Rs 56,500.

The price of kapas (seed cotton) has also decreased to Rs 7,000 per quintal compared to over Rs 8,200 between December 2022 and February 2023. Nevertheless, the current prices are still 11% higher than the minimum support price of Rs 6,080.

According to the Committee on Cotton Production and Consumption, this season's cotton crop is estimated to be 337 lakh bales, with 272 lakh bales already arriving in the market. Additionally, around 10 lakh bales of summer cotton, cultivated in Tamil Nadu and a few other states, are expected to be available in the coming months.

Moreover, the Chairman of SIMA has appealed to the Indian government to allow the import of extra-long staple (ELS) cotton at zero customs duty.

Currently, cotton imports are subject to an 11% duty. In the previous year, ELS cotton imports were permitted at zero duty between April and October.