Govt jubilant on cotton procurement success, courtesy high support price

PUNE: The government���s mammoth cotton procurement scheme, spread over four-and-a-half months, ended on March 15, rising a huge 1,285%. Last year, the state and central governments together purchased 21.3 lakh quintal cotton under the minimum support price (MSP) scheme, while this year agencies representing both the central and state governments bought 270 lakh quintal. The purchase of 270 lakh quintal cotton at the MSP of Rs 2,850 per quintal has thus put Rs 4,200 crore in the pockets of cotton farmers on the eve of the Lok Sabha elections.

The president of the Maharashtra State Cotton Growers Marketing Federation (Mahacot), NP Hirani said: ���The federation has procured around 170 lakh quintal of cotton, while the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) and private traders procured nearly 100 and 35 lakh quintals, respectively.

Thus, a total of about 305 lakh quintals of cotton has been purchased.��� The federation was appointed a sub-agent of the National Agriculture Co-operative Marketing Federation (Nafed), a central-government agency which entered cotton purchase for the first time. While the original MSP for cotton was Rs 3,000 per quintal, actual purchases were done at a lower rate on account of moisture, etc.

With the state���s cotton production this season estimated at 310 lakh quintal of which 305 lakh quintal has been procured. This means that almost all the cotton has been bought, leaving negligible amounts with farmers.
���Nafed had planned to end procurement by January 31 as it could reimburse only Rs 1,200 crore.

However, after the intervention of Union food and agricultural minister Sharad Pawar, Nafed���s reimbursement limit was raised to Rs 3,000 crore and the procurement deadline was extended up to February 28,��� said Mr Hirani, adding ���The procurement deadline was again extended up to March 15 at the insistence of Maharashtra CM Ashok Chavan, especially for the farmers in the Marathwada region of the state, where cotton crop comes late by a month.��� Incidentally, Mr Chavan, hails from Nanded in the Marathwada region.

The state produces primarily Bt cotton. ���Last year, the federation procured only 1.3 lakh quintal cotton, while the CCI bought another 20 lakh quintals,��� said Mahacot general manager (procurement) H Vairale. Last year, cotton MSP was fixed at Rs 2,010, while the ruling market rate was around Rs 3,000. The ruling price this year was Rs 2,300-2,400 per quintal, while MSP was officially pegged at Rs 3,000 per quintal.