NCBA Estimates Higher Indian Cotton Crop In Current Season

India’s cotton crop in the October 2022 to September 2023 cotton season will be 329.72 lakh bales (1 bale=170kgs), as against 312 lakh bales last season, the National Cotton Brokers Association (NCBA) has estimated.

“The estimate is based on arrivals until June-end and was finalised at a meeting held over Zoom,” the Hindu Businessline reported.

The NCBA projected total cotton arrivals until June-end at 295.65 lakh bales, slightly lower than the previous estimate of 300 lakh bales. This estimate is higher than the Indian Cotton Association’s projection of 298 lakh bales.

The Committee on Cotton Production and Consumption, a panel of industry stakeholders, including growers, predicts that the crop production will likely be 343.47 lakh bales.

The uncertainty in cotton production this year is due to growers holding back their produce after prices dropped from last season’s high levels.