The Hindu Business Line : Cotton acreage drops 38% on extended dry spell

New Delhi, July 11 An extended dry spell across the peninsula has led to a 38 per cent dip in area sown under cotton during the ongoing kharif season.

The Agriculture Ministry’s latest Crop Weather Watch report shows that farmers have so far planted 39.17 lakh hectares (lh) under cotton this year, compared with 63.38 lh during this period of 2007.

Acreages have dropped sharply in Maharashtra (from 26.20 to 10.51 lh), Andhra Pradesh (8.68 to 5.92 lh), Gujarat (12.50 to 8.59 lh) and Karnataka (1.57 to 1.46 lh). Much of this is a result of poor monsoon precipitation in these regions.

Shortfall of rains

The India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) data of rainfall during the current south-west monsoon season (June-September) reveals a shortfall of 62 per cent in Marathwada, 23 per cent in Vidarbha, 21 per cent in Telangana, 47 per cent in Rayalaseema, 33 per cent in coastal Andhra, 43 per cent in northern interior Karnataka and 36 per cent in mainland Gujarat.

“Normally, in Vidarbha, sowing is over by around July 20. By now at least 70 per cent should have been completed, whereas it appears that only 45-50 per cent has been covered”, noted Dr K.R. Kranthi, Crop Protection Head at the Nagpur-based Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR).

According to him, the next 10 days or so would be crucial not only for Vidarbha, but even Marathwada and Andhra Pradesh, where sowing extends up to the end of this month or first week of August. “We need rains badly now,” he added.

Set to continue

The not-so-encouraging news, however, is the IMD’s forecast for the coming week, wherein the subdued rainfall activity is “likely to continue” over south and central India. The normal area under cotton in Maharashtra is 28.76 lh, while being 17.68 lh in Gujarat, 9.92 lh in Andhra Pradesh and 4.50 lh in Karnataka.

Even in the North, sowing has been below last year, notwithstanding copious rainfall in the major cotton-growing tracts. Area has fallen in Punjab (from 6.04 to 5.60 lh), Haryana (4.83 to 4.18 lh) and Rajasthan (3.5 to 1.81 lh), with the normal coverage in these States amounting to 5.15 lh, 5.76 lh and 4.30 lh respectively.

Crop diversion

In the northern States, the main problem seems to be a combination of diversion to more remunerative crops and the threat of the mealy bug insect pest. Farmers in Punjab and Haryana have preferred to bring more area under paddy, while Rajasthan has reported expanded acreages in maize (from 1.53 to 7.05 lh), bajra (9.62 to 27.25 lh), soyabean (2.61 to 6.76 lh) and groundnut (1.75 to 3.10 lh).

If current trends persist, there is every likelihood of the country’s cotton production registering a decline, following a five-year dream run that witnessed output go up from 136 lakh bales (lb) in 2002-03 to 179 lb in 2003-04, 243 lb in 2004-05, 244 lb in 2005-06, 280 lb in 2006-07 and 310 lb in 2007-08.

Imports drop

Over this period–coinciding with the spectacular diffusion of Bt cotton technology–imports fell from 17.67 lb to 6.50 lb, while exports shot up from a mere 0.84 lb to 65 lb. But with rising domestic prices and concerted lobbying by mills, the Centre, early this week, scrapped the 14.4 per cent import duty on cotton and also the one per cent duty draw back benefits granted on exports.