Cotton Acreage Drops Below Last Year Due to Gujarat
05-Aug-2025 05:57 PM
New Delhi. In Gujarat, the country's most prominent cotton producing state, cotton sowing area has declined by more than 10 percent due to farmers giving special emphasis on the cultivation of peanuts and soybean.
According to the latest data released by the State Agriculture Department, during the current Kharif season, the total production area of cotton in Gujarat till August 4 has come down to 20.35 lakh hectares,
which is 13 percent or 3 lakh hectares less than the sowing area of 23.35 lakh hectares during the same period last year. This time the normal average area of cotton in Gujarat has been estimated at 25.34 lakh hectares.
Although there has been an increase in the production area of cotton in states like Karnataka, Telangana and Rajasthan, yet at the national level, its total sowing area has come down from 108.43 lakh hectares last year to 105.87 lakh hectares this time on August 1, 2025.
A trader from Rajkot says that many farmers of Gujarat have turned to groundnut instead of cotton this time. Although the central government has increased the minimum support price (MSP) of both the crops, but farmers find groundnut cultivation more profitable. The cotton season is long while farmers can harvest the groundnut crop early and sow another crop.
About 90 percent of cotton sowing has been completed in the country and the process is still going on. According to industry analysts, the total production area of cotton is expected to remain almost the same as last year during the current season.
In Maharashtra, the area under cotton cultivation is lagging behind last year and the five-year average area. But it has gone ahead in Andhra Pradesh.
In Telangana, the cotton acreage till July 30 increased from 40.66 lakh acres to 43.28 lakh acres. But this is far behind the normal average area of 48.93 lakh acres.
The cotton production area in Karnataka has increased by 17% from 6.40 lakh hectares last year to 7.50 lakh hectares this time. The weather and rainfall conditions are generally favorable for the cotton crop. The upcoming season is expected to be normal.