Domestic Cotton Production Estimated at 324 Lakh Bales
14-Apr-2026 07:58 PM
New Delhi. A leading trade body—the Cotton Association of India (CAI)—has revised its estimate for domestic cotton production for the current marketing season (October–September) of 2025–26, pegging it at 324 lakh bales (each weighing 170 kg).
This figure represents an increase of 3.50 lakh bales over last month's estimate of 320.50 lakh bales, and an increase of 11.60 lakh bales compared to the production of 312.40 lakh bales recorded in the 2024–25 season.
Although the Association has lowered its cotton production estimates for Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, it has significantly increased the production estimate for Maharashtra.
The cotton production estimate for Maharashtra has been raised by 7 lakh bales and is now set at 105 lakh bales, whereas it was previously estimated at 98 lakh bales. In the 2024–25 season, Maharashtra produced 91 lakh bales of cotton.
Conversely, the Association has reduced the cotton production estimate for Gujarat by 3 lakh bales—from 75 lakh bales—to a current figure of 72 lakh bales; this is 5 lakh bales lower than the estimated production of 77 lakh bales in the 2024–25 season. Consequently, Maharashtra is set to remain the country's leading cotton-producing state.
The Association has also lowered the cotton production estimate for Madhya Pradesh by 50,000 bales—from 18 lakh bales—to a current figure of 17.50 lakh bales, which is 1.50 lakh bales less than the estimated production of 19 lakh bales in the 2024–25 season.
In the Northern Zone (Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan), the cotton production estimate has been revised downward from last year's figure of 29.55 lakh bales to 29 lakh bales; conversely, the production figure for the Central Zone (Maharashtra,
Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh) has been raised from 187 lakh bales to 194.50 lakh bales, while that for the Southern states (Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu) has been increased from 90 lakh bales to 95 lakh bales. Cotton production is projected at 3.50 lakh bales in Odisha and 2 lakh bales across other states of the country.