Cotton area has decreased in at least half a dozen states

29-Aug-2024 01:04 PM

New Delhi. Compared to last year, this time cotton sowing area has declined in at least five-six states of the country, which includes Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan as well as cotton producing states like Gujarat and Maharashtra.

Data from the Union Agriculture Ministry shows that the total cotton production area at the national level has decreased from 122.75 lakh hectares last year to 111.40 lakh hectares in the current Kharif season.

Since the sowing process has been completed in most of the producing areas, there is no possibility of much increase in the cotton area going forward.

According to the available data, the cotton sowing area in the country's most prominent producing state - Gujarat reached 26.78 lakh hectares last year, which this time decreased by 12 percent to 23.58 lakh hectares.

Similarly, the area in Maharashtra fell from 41.86 lakh hectares to 40.78 lakh hectares, in Rajasthan from 7.90 lakh hectares to 5.13 lakh hectares, in Haryana from 6.65 lakh hectares to 4.76 lakh hectares, in Punjab from 2.10 lakh hectares to 1.00 lakh hectares and in Telangana from 18.01 lakh hectares to 17.09 lakh hectares.

In Andhra Pradesh too, the area under cotton reached 3.50 lakh hectares this time as against 3.60 lakh hectares last year. On the other hand, the area in Karnataka improved from 6.55 lakh hectares to 6.69 lakh hectares.

Along with the huge fall in the sowing area, there are reports of heavy damage to the cotton crop due to torrential rains and waterlogging in the fields in states like Gujarat and Maharashtra, due to which production is likely to decrease.