Due to various reasons affecting the global cotton market, cotton prices fell by 0.8% Wednesday, ending at 62040 rupees per candy. In contrast to the earlier estimate of 294.1 lakh bales, the Cotton Association of India (CAI) increased its projections for cotton production for the current season, estimating a higher production of 309.70 lakh bales.
This upward revision and higher supply forecasts aided the downward pricing pressure. Cotton Australia increased its production projection to “at least” 4.5 million bales, taking advantage of widespread rainfall and higher production estimates in India.
However, the March 8 Cotton Ginnings report caused U.S. cotton output predictions for the current season to be lowered, which resulted in lower ending inventories. Estimates of the world’s cotton supply and demand for 2023–2024 revealed reduced ending inventories but increased output, consumption, and trade notwithstanding these changes.
Furthermore, citing the recent increase in domestic cotton prices, the Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA) recommended textile mills in the southern States to avoid panic buying. Within two weeks, the cost of the popular Shankar-6 – 6 cotton variant skyrocketed from ₹55,300 to nearly ₹62,000 per candy. Mill capacity utilization surged to 80–90%, and almost 20 lakh bales were already committed for export.
