M A I N   N E W S

Farmers smile as cotton prices goes up
SP Sharma
Tribune News Service

Arrivals pick up The Centre lifted the ban on cotton export on Sunday Cotton arrivals in the Malwa region pick up The produce sold at Rs 4,430 per quintal as against Rs 4,200 till Sunday Bathinda district registers arrival of 15,990 quintals on Monday

Bathinda, March 12
The cotton price here witnessed a forward leap of about Rs 230 per quintal today as the Centre yesterday lifted the ban on its export.

Its arrival in the markets of the Malwa region, including Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana, picked up as farmers came out with their held back produce.

The cotton that was trading for about Rs 4,200 per quintal till yesterday fetched Rs 4,430 per quintal today, thereby bringing smile on the face of farmers. The seven market committees of the Bathinda district registered arrival of 15,990 quintals of cotton during the day.

The total arrival of cotton during the current season here so far is 17.80 lakh quintals against 16.77 lakh quintals during the comparative period last year. The figure touched about 75 lakh quintals in the other cotton-growing districts of Muktsar, Barnala, Moga, Sangrur and Mansa.

The arrival of cotton was the highest during the day in the markets of Bathinda and Maur where it touched the figure of 3,850 quintals and 3,500 quintals, respectively.

Mukhtiar Singh, a Talwandi Sabo farmer, appreciated the government for lifting ban on cotton export. He said there was a ray of hope that the farming community might recover the cost of cultivating cotton and also make some savings this time.

The farmers were a depressed lot earlier as the cotton price hovered around Rs 4,000 per quintal against the price of Rs 7,200 last year.

The standing cotton crop in certain areas of Muktsar was damaged this time due to the flooding of fields in more than 100 villages of Lambi and Malout sub-divisions and also the adjoining areas. This has affected production in Malwa.

The cotton production in Punjab touched about 18 lakh bales last year. The production this time was expected to witness a shortfall of about 10 per cent, said an officer of the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI).

However, the main cotton-growing areas of the neighbouring state of Rajasthan, particularly Sriganganagar and Hanumangarh districts, have traded 16 lakh bales of cotton so far. The scenario was better in Haryana where about 18 lakh bales have been sold during the current season.