Adilabad: Cotton procurement to begin on October 25

Adilabad: The State government is all set to begin cotton procurement from the 25th of this month. Earlier it was decided to begin procurement from October 20, but due to change in weather conditions it was postponed to October 25.

The district administration has made all elaborate arrangements at all purchasing centers. The government has fixed the minimum support price (MSP) at Rs 6,025 per quintal, but the actual open market price is around Rs 7,000 per quintal. Farmers will be naturally inclined to sell their produce in the open market, not showing any interest in procurement by Cotton Corporation of India (CCI).

Given this, CCI officials said that they would send proposals for the trade permits depending on the cotton procurement pattern. The combined Adilabad district is expected to procure 70 lakh quintals of cotton this year. As private traders get ready to purchase cotton, officials are going to implement a new approach known as moisture testing.

The cotton brought by the farmers in the open market will be tested in five phases and after that an average median point of moisture will be taken. Market staff are deployed to check the moisture. Each vehicle carrying the cotton that comes into the market yard will be taken to the ginning factory desired by the farmer where the market staff will check moisture four more times in presence of the farmer and at last only median point will be taken as moisture content. Marketing officials has made all arrangements.

Cotton cultivated in 3,83,000 acres in Adilabad district is expected production of 27 lakh quintals. In Nirmal district it is grown in 1,61,000 acres and expected production is 11 lakh quintals. In Mancherial district, it is grown in over 1,72,000 acres and the expected production is about 12 lakh quintals. In Kumram Bheem and Asifabad district it is grown in three lakh acres and the production may touch 21 lakh quintals, the marketing department officials stated.