Business

Gujarat Cotton Season May Get Delayed

Due to irregular rains, cotton season is likely to begin a month late in Gujarat, the country's largest cotton producing state. According to cotton experts and industry, the crop plants are smaller than the normal size due to delay in sowing. Normally, the new cotton season begins in October and ends in September every year, but this time it is expected that new arrival will start from October end or in November due to abnormal monsoons in the state. "The state has witnessed late monsoon and as a result many farmers have sown cotton crop late this year. Moreover, frequency of rains is also not normal. Some places received high rains whereas some had poor rainfall. This has affected the growth of cotton plant. Looking at the present situation, we believe that cotton season may be delayed by a month this year," said Arvind Patel, managing director of Jaydeep Cotton Fibers Private and vice president of Saurashtra Ginners Association (SGA). As per Gujarat agriculture department's data, cotton sowing has reached over 2.71 million hectares, about 2.33% higher than last year's 2.65 million hectares. Though, sowing has increased, it is much lower than industry expectations.