Cotton Crop in Top Grower to Soar on Best Monsoon in 25 Years
- Production seen climbing by more than 15% from year earlier
- Government urged to give incentives to encourage exports
A farmer hand-picks cotton in a field in Dangad, Haryana, India.
Photographer: Prashanth Vishwanathan/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Cotton output in India, the world’s biggest producer, is set to surge after the heaviest monsoon rain in a quarter century, adding to global supply at a time when prices are near their weakest in more than three years.
The crop may reach at least 36.5 million bales of 170 kilograms each (375 pounds) in the year that started Oct. 1, said Vinay N. Kotak, director at brokers Kotak Commodity Services in Mumbai. That’s more than 15% higher than output a year earlier, according to estimates from the Cotton Association of India.