Cotton production expected to decline to 29.1 million bales

11-Mar-2026 06:24 PM

New Delhi. Fears of a decline in domestic cotton production were already being expressed due to a reduction in the area under cultivation and significant damage to the crop due to floods and rains. The domestic market price of cotton also remained weak.

In its second advance estimate, the Union Agriculture Ministry has projected that domestic cotton production during the 2025-26 season will decline to 29.09 million bales (each bale weighing 170 kg), which is 7.34 million bales less than the 29.724 million bales produced in the 2024-25 season.

According to the ministry, the country had previously produced 32.522 million bales in the 2023-24 season, 33.66 million bales in 2022-23, and 31.118 million bales in 2021-22.

Despite a decline in production, weak domestic market prices forced the government agency, the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI), to purchase about 10 million bales from farmers at the minimum support price. These are now being sold.