Textile industry witnessed an adverse impact because of fluctuations in the cotton price from October to September in 2022, reveals a report by the GujCot Association.
The report said that the fluctuations affected mills as well as farmers in the state. Due to the high prices, Indian raw cotton exports touched a 15-year-low of 14.66 lakh bales (170kg each).
New arrivals have started and experts believe that challenging times will continue for some time.
GujCot report said that Indian cotton prices remained higher than the international prices for the most time of cotton season 2022-23 (October to September), and therefore, raw cotton exports plunged considerably. According to the data, India exported 14.66 lakh bales in 2022-23 which was around 42 lakh bales in 2021-22, and 77 lakh bales in 2020-21.
The GujCot secretary, Ajay Shah, said, “From November 2022 to May 2023, a historic battle unfolded between cotton farmers and mill owners. Farmers held onto their cotton, while mills hesitated to build inventory. Despite the struggle, cotton prices remained relatively steady between Rs 61,000 per candy to Rs 63,000 per candy (356kg), with a brief dip in December last week linked to the NY futures.”
From May onwards, disillusioned cotton farmers decided to sell their produce, contributing to a downward trend in cotton prices. This selling pressure led to prices fluctuating between Rs 56,000 per candy and Rs 60,000 per candy, reflecting the challenges faced by farmers and the market’s response, Shah added.
In the cotton season 2022-23, Gujarat saw pressing of around 92 lakh bales which was higher than 74 lakh bales in 2021-22.
New cotton season has started and India is witnessing daily arrival of around 80,000 bales with Gujarat contributing around 25,000 bales per day, GujCot Association said.
