All-time high Cotton prices bring cheers to farmers in Hry & Punjab

Chandigarh: Farmers across cotton-producing districts of Haryana and Punjab are jubilant as the crop prices have soared to an all-time high this year.

Against the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 5,726 for medium staple cotton this year, the crop on Sunday fetched a price of Rs 9,900 in Sirsa, the biggest producer of cotton in Haryana. In contrast, the crop fetched over Rs 10,000 in Abohar in Punjab and nearby Hanumangarh district of Rajasthan.

Cotton crop is largely grown in Sirsa, Fatehabad, Hisar, Jind, Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri and Mahendragarh districts in Haryana, while in Punjab, Abohar, Fazilka, Muktsar, Bathinda and Mansa are among the largest producers of the crop.

Sri Ganganagar and Hanumangarh districts of Rajasthan that share their boundaries in Sirsa district of Haryana and Abohar in Fazilka district of Punjab are also among big producers of cotton.

According to Gurpreet Singh Nagpal, a partner in Royal Cotgin, one of the largest cotton ginning units in Sirsa, the crop prices were at Rs 5,200, much below the MSP of Rs 5,515 last year and the farmers had to depend on purchase by the government agency Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) for remunerative prices.

"This year, the agency has not been able to enter the market because of the soaring prices. Last year, we, too, purchased raw cotton from the CCI for running our mills, but this year the agency does not have any crop to sell," said Nagpal.

Senapati Tamred, a leading cotton broker in Sirsa said that the situation is unprecedented this year, as the last time he was cotton prices go high was in 2011 when the crop fetched a price of nearly Rs 7,000 to the farmers. Satish, a broker in Abohar Mandi of Punjab, said that the quality of cotton in Rajasthan and Punjab is better than that of Haryana because of the slightly larger staple length, and hence better prices too. Nagpal said that the prices of raw cotton are determined by the international market.

"The price in the USA today is over 123 Cents per Pound of upland cotton. Last year the highest price was 85 Cents per Pound," Nagpal added.

Industry sources reveal that untimely rains in October in the cotton belts of the country have adversely affected cotton production, which, too, has contributed to the soaring process this year.