Price of cotton crop has been declining in different agricultural markets in the erstwhile Karimnagar district. There was a Rs 2,700 decline in the price during the last fortnight. Though the price of a quintal cotton rose up to Rs 9,000 in the second week of November, it has started declining from the third week due to various reasons.
Besides the fall in cotton bales price in the international market, traders’ syndicate are said to be the reasons for the price decline in local market. Ultimately, farmers, who faced severe hardships due to heavy rains during August, September and October are more worried now because of the fall in cotton prices.
Cotton was cultivated in 61,032 acres and 70,000 acres in Karimnagar and Peddapalli districts respectively. While 54.88 lakh quintals of yield is expected in Karimnagar, Peddapalli expects around 5.80 lakh quintals. Depending on the size of the crops, the central government has fixed the MSP of Rs 6,080 for the cotton (24.5 mm to 25.5 mm) and Rs 6,380 for 29.5 to 30.5 mm cotton.
Though there are some small markets, Jammikunta and Peddapalli are major markets for cotton trading. Though the trading continued on a brisk note in the initial days, troubles began when the price crossed Rs 9,000 mark. On November 14, a quintal of cotton was purchased at Rs 9,114 and it continued for a few weeks. The price started declining from November 22. In the last season, traders purchased the crop by spending more than Rs 11,000 per quintal.
Anticipating the price to go up, farmers stopped bringing the crop to the markets. At the same time, traders have reportedly reduced the price to check further increase. As a result, the price that scaled to Rs 9,114 on November 14 declined to Rs 8,300 on Tuesday, market source said.
However, trades claimed that they were purchasing the crop depending on the price at the international market. When the cotton market started in September last week, the price of a cotton bale in the international market was 71,000. Now, it has declined to 67,000.
Source: Telangana Today
