SIMA Contests CAI Cotton Crop Forecast Of 311 Lakh Bales
Coimbatore based Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA) has contested the estimates of Cotton Association of India (CAI) which forecast a cotton crop of 311 lakh bales (of 170 kg each) for the 2022-2023 cotton season.
The Chairman of SIMA, Ravi Sam has urged the CAI to avoid digressing from the forecast made by the Committee on Cotton Production and Consumption (COCPC), to avoid any negative impact on the cotton market.
Ravi Sam also requested the Textiles Ministry to advise all COCPC members to avoid forecasting their own estimates as a code of conduct.
The COCPC functions under the Office of the Textile Commissioner and has stakeholders of the entire cotton value chain and has been estimating the crop size, imports, exports, consumption, stock, etc.
The SIMA Chairman added that the COCPC estimates influence cotton price trends and in-turn the performance of the cotton textile value chain.
He stated that COCPC estimated opening stock at 39.48 lakh bales compared to 24 lakh bales estimated by CAI, while COCPC forecast crop size at 343.47 lakh bales, as against 311.18 lakh bales by CAI.
Ravi Sam further added that cotton price which was at Rs 55,500 per candy in July 2023 has now moved up to Rs 61,200 per candy, which is higher by 11 percent, when compared with international cotton prices.
The price of 40s combed hosiery cotton yarn price declined by Rs 25 per kg during the last month due to sluggish demand. But though cotton price rose by Rs 5,700 per candy in August, yarn price grew only by Rs 10 per kg in the current month, which has made spinning mills continue to incur cash losses.
