Locally grown cotton fetches bumper price at auction

TIRUCHY: Following the announcement of import duty on cotton in the Union budget, the sale of cotton in local market witnessed a drastic rise touching a high of Rs 66 per kilogram. The total sale crossed Rs 6 crore in Tiruchy.

Agriculture Department officials said that following a bumper crop this harvest season, many farmers are preparing their field to raise cotton crop once again.  Farmers would generally shift between raising maize and cotton crop. However, owing to drop in the price of maize, many of them had shifted to raising cotton. According to the department, the market value of cotton witnessed a gradual rise from the previous years' figure at the Thuraiyur regulatory market.

Speaking to TNIE, Sugumar, secretary of the marketing committee of the department said, "Despite rainfall during the harvest of cotton, the price seems to be gradually increasing. However, with the import duty of cotton increasing by 10 per cent in the budget, the cotton price reached a record high of Rs 63 - Rs 66 per kg at the auction this week."

Sugumar said the increase in import duty would give an edge to cotton farmers, and help them keep the price well above Rs 60 per kg for sometime. Last year, cotton auction earned a total of Rs 9 crore throughout the season at the Thuraiyur regulatory market. This year's auction already crossed `6 crore till this week and considering the phase of sale, the value is likely to cross the previous year records.

An official said that with the cotton harvest nearing completion, farmers are expected to raise pulses till the next cultivation season. During May and June, more farmers are likely to shift from maize to cotton. As maize cultivation failed this season and the with the cotton market getting stabilised, cotton would be a prime choice for farmers, said official.