Telangana State emerges as 3rd largest cotton producer in India

Hyderabad: The Telangana State government's measures to boost cotton production have yielded positive results, as the State has emerged as the top cotton producer in South India and the third-largest producer in the country, after Gujarat and Maharashtra. In 2020-21, Telangana produced 57.97 lakh bales of cotton, and in 2021-22, it produced 48.78 lakh bales.

In addition to production, Telangana was also the second leading State in terms of labor rate paid to cotton workers.

While Kerala pays Rs 117.88 per hour, Telangana pays Rs 98.36 per hour. In contrast, BJP-ruled states like Gujarat and Karnataka pay Rs 35.16 and Rs 49.35, respectively.

Union Minister of State for Textiles, Darshana Jordash, shared these details in Lok Sabha on Wednesday, in response to a question by BRS MP Manne Srinivas Reddy. The minister added that India is a net cotton exporter country, where production exceeds consumption.

The Union Government has kept cotton exports under Open General License (OGL), considering the interests of the entire cotton value chain, including cotton farmers.

Meanwhile, India has imposed an import duty of 11% (including 5% Custom Duty, 5% AIDC, and 1% Cess) on cotton imports since February 1, 2021.

Free Trade Agreements have also been signed with the UAE and Australia to access export markets, which came into effect on May 1, 2022, and December 29, 2022, respectively.

The Union Minister stated that the Ministry of Agriculture, through ICAR-CICR, Nagpur, has developed a Master plan titled 'Targeting technologies to agro-ecological zones-large scale demonstrations of best practices to enhance cotton productivity' and sanctioned Rs 41.87 crore for its implementation under the National Food Security Mission (NFSM).

The project aims to target technologies such as High Density Planting System (HDPS), closer spacing, and production technology for ELS cotton, sanctioned by the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (DoA&FW).

The Union Government has also issued a Quality Control Order (QCO) on February 28, 2023, for mandatory certification of cotton bales to augment the supply of good quality cotton.