DESPITE heavy rainfall in the region in the last week of September, cotton arrival has picked up in Punjab mandis and farmers are getting prices in the range of Rs 5,300 to Rs 5,600 per quintal, which is higher than previous year’s Rs 4,300- Rs 4,600 per quintal. Though arrival started about a fortnight ago, it has started picking up over the last three days, confirmed office of Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) in Bathinda.
The MSP has been raised to Rs 5,350 a quintal this year. The CCI did not purchase any cotton from Punjab market for the past two years and even this year, so far they have not made a single purchase. Ranjeev Raheja, a commission agent based in Abohar Mandi said, “Cotton purchase started with Rs 5,600 a quintal initially when only 250-400 bales a day was coming in the region.
However, now the prices have crashed to nearly Rs 5,300 a quintal, which is below the MSP. But only private players are in the market.” A few farmers are selling the early-picked stock below the MSP, but the CCI has not yet stepped in, revealed information from Bathinda mandi.
Meanwhile, sources in the CCI office it was revealed that on an average daily arrival of cotton in the region is between 4000- 5000 cotton bales, and so far 34,000 cotton bales have arrived in the Punjab mandis.