Rain brings harvesting of cotton to halt in Malwa belt

NO PURCHASE OF CROP BY COTTON CORPORATION OF INDIA SO FAR DUE TO HIGH MOISTURE

BATHINDA: Cotton harvesting is set to get stalled for at least four days following rain in various parts of Malwa region since Thursday.

State agriculture authorities on Friday said no crop damage was reported due to the wet climatic conditions in Bathinda and adjoining districts.

“Showers were expected and farmers were duly informed about the climatic conditions caused by the retreat of monsoon. There is no field report of any major damage to cotton or paddy crops in the state,” said agriculture director Dr Sutantar Kumar Airi. Chief agricultural officer, Bathinda, Gurditta Singh said farmers have been advised to wait till Tuesday for picking cotton. He said the second picking may begin after 10 days.

“The state is expected to have a bumper crop, as no disease has affected the crop. The first round of cotton harvesting is going very well,” said Singh.

Meanwhile, the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) entered the state’s market in eight districts for purchasing the crop, at the minimum support price (MSP) of ₹5,450 per quintal on Tuesday. However, no cotton was purchased till Friday by the CCI as officials claimed the crop had moisture content above the permissible ceiling of 8%.

Private traders started purchasing the crop around three weeks ago, but have not been offering the MSP. Data with the state government shows Punjab has crossed the target of bringing four lakh hectares under cotton cultivation, the highest in the last five years.

“Random checking in mandis of eight cotton-growing districts in the state recorded that moisture in the crop was up to 20%, that is 12% more than the CCI norms,” an official claimed, adding that the agency expected to buy more than 10 lakh bales (a bale comprises 170kg) of the natural fibre this year in the state.

Om Setia, president, Fazilka Arthiya Association, said, “Private players are paying ₹5,200 per quintal for cotton. The pricing might improve after the second picking of cotton begins after 10 days.” State coordinator, cotton, Rajnish Goel said no cotton purchase was reported by CCI till Friday, due to the high moisture content. Meanwhile, the arhtiyas are opposing CCI for purchasing cotton directly from farmers. District president of arhtiyas association Jaswant Rai Ballon said the commission agents are united to protest against direct payment to farmers. Officials and traders said the purchase situation was likely to improve after the second picking begins after 10-12 days. In 2018, Punjab had an estimated production of 9 lakh bales, whereas the annual average consumption in Ludhiana’s yarn manufacturing units alone was 40 lakh bales.