India's cotton output may fall due to scanty rains, pest attack

CHANDIGARH: Cotton output in India is likely to drop by up to 15 per cent this year due to insufficient rain and pest attack in two cotton-growing regions of the country.
In Gujarat, a major cotton-producing state, the crop has been hit by weak rainfall after a good sowing period, when the monsoon was strong. Rainfall in the region has been patchy and 28 per cent below normal.

Farmers are worried as rainfall over the last one month has been scanty, putting the crop under stress. "The yield could decline by 10 per cent15 per cent due to lower acreage and less rains in Gujarat," said Saurin Parikh of the All India Cotton Gin Press Association.

The situation is also worrisome in Maharashtra. "Lack of rains in central Maharashtra could affect the crop," said KR Kranthi, director, Central Institute of Cotton Research, Nagpur. In Punjab and Haryana, the crop is at risk of damage from whitefly attack. The pest has hit hard traditional cotton belts in these states and some districts of Rajasthan. The region has faced pest attacks in the last two years, but had been milder in the past.

"This time, whitefly attack in north is more serious than in the recent years and has come much earlier," said Dilip Mongia, head of northern region for Central Institute for Cotton Research. "It is primarily due to unmindful use of pesticides that has wiped off natural insect regulators." Domestic cotton production in 2014-15 was 354.75 lakh bales (each bale weighs 170 kg), down a bit from 359 lakh bales in 2013-14.

Experts estimate that farmers in Punjab and Haryana may lose up to 30 per cent of the crop. In Punjab, whitefly attack is prominent in five cotton-growing districts. In Haryana, Sirsa, Bhiwani, Hisar and Fatehabad districts are affected.

Industry experts said the prices would be supported by low global output, rising local demand and the rupee's depreciation. "Globally, yield could decline as area under cotton has come down in major cotton-producing countries like China, US and Pakistan. In the US, heavy rains due to El Nino are affecting cotton crop. Damage due to pest attack is reported from Pakistan," Kranti said.


Mahesh Sharda, president of Punjab-based Cotton Ginners Association, said: "There is panic among farmers due to pest attack and the extent of damage is yet to be assessed."

"Whitefly attack is quiet widespread this time and farmers are in huge trouble in the cot on belt. Farmers follow agents of pesticide companies and spend a fortune to save their crops as the authorities are not pro-active in extending extension services till damage is done," said Balbir Singh Rajewal, the president of Bharti Kisna Union.

Meanwhile, the Punjab government is assessing the damage to the cotton crop in the state.

"The damage could be curtailed if the weather remains favourable," said SS Sidhu, deputy director (cotton), Punjab agriculture department. Initial assessments had pegged the damage in the state at over 30 per cent, he said.