Dip in acreage to shrink cotton output by 7% to 302 lakh bales in 2024-25
Trade body Cotton Association of India (CAI) sees the 2024-25 cotton crop declining by 7 per cent at 302.25 lakh bales of 170 kg each over previous year’s on dip in acreages and adverse weather impacting the crop in some areas. Production in the previous season stood at 325.29 lakh bales.
CAI President, Atul Ganatara, said in a statement that consumption during 2024-25 was estimated at 313 lakh bales of 170 kg each, similar to that of last year. The cotton exports are seen down at 18 lakh bales for 2024-25, a decline of 37 per cent over previous year’s 28.50 lakh bales on lower availability. At the same time, imports are expected to rise by around 43 per cent to 25 lakh bales during 2024-25 from previous year’s 17.5 lakh bales.
Dip in North, Central
As per CAI estimates, the reduction in crop size is mainly in the North and Central Zones. Reduction in North Zone is estimated at 9.62 lakh bales, while in the Central zone the decline in crop size is pegged at 11.05 lakh bales. In South zone, the crop size is seen lower by 1.85 lakh bales, while in Odisha it is down by 0.52 lakh bales. Total reduction in the crop size is estimated at 23.04 lakh bales over previous year’s 325.29 lakh bales.
The reduction in the crop is largely attributed to the decline in cotton acreages, which are lower by about 14 lakh hectare at 112.90 lakh ha this year as some farmers in key producing States of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh have shifted to other crops such as groundnut and pulses among others.
Total cotton supply till end of the cotton season 2024-25 (up to September 30, 2025) is estimated at 357.44 lakh bales of 170 kg. This includes the domestic production, imports and also the opening stocks of 30.19 lakh bales as on October 1. Ganatra said the closing stocks as on September 2025 are estimated to be lower at 26.44 lakh bales of 170 kg each against previous year’s 30.19 lakh bales.
As per CAI data, the highest cotton yield in India during the last five years was 2.67 bales per hectare in 2019-20 season, while the lowest yield was 2.42 bales bales per hectare in 2021-22 season. The average yield during the last five years was 2.55 bales per hectare.
Considering this and the reported acreages of 112.90 lakh hectare as per the Agriculture Ministry data, the highest cotton production in India during 2024-25 season would be about 301 lakh bales while the lowest output would about 273 lakh bales of 170 kgs, while the average cotton production in India during the ongoing crop year 2024-25 would be about 288 lakh bales, CAI said.