Ahead of cotton marketing season, the State government has asked the District Collectors to notify 313 ginning mills in their purview as procurement centres and also send proposals to the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) to recognise 121 agricultural market yards as cotton purchase centres.
Minister for Agriculture S. Niranjan Reddy reviewed the arrangements being made for cotton procurement here on Monday with the officials of agriculture and marketing departments as also those from CCI. He stated that in spite of the adverse seasonal conditions, the farming community had taken to the fibre crop cultivation in about 50 lakh acres.
Although the yield was expected to be less compared to previous years due to heavy rains and floods this season, the demand for the crop at national and international level was likely to keep the price high. Against the support price of ₹6,380 per quintal, the crop was commanding about ₹8,000 per quintal now for the early arrivals.
The Minister stated cotton cultivation scenario around the world was clearly indicating high demand for cotton in the coming years too and suggested the farming community to go for the crop on a large scale in the coming years.
He told the marketing department officials to arrange moisture measuring tools, electronic weighing scales, staff at all the identified CCI procurement centres. He told the officials to prepare proposals for establishing a laboratory to examine the quality of cotton to help both farmers and ginning mills get good price.
Representatives of ginning mills owners have also agreed to participate in the tenders to be called by CCI. Additional Directors of Marketing Lakshmanudu and Ravi Kumar, CCI General Manager Amarnath Reddy and others participated in the meeting.
