Cotton procurement may hit record; to start in 3-4 days

New Delhi, Oct 2 (PTI) India's cotton procurement islikely to hit record this year with the state-owned CottonCorporation eyeing a bumper purchase of 50-100 lakh bales dueto a sharp hike in the minimum support price. "We expect a minimum 50 lakh bales (one bale is equal to170 kg) of procurement in the 2008-09 season, which may evengo up to 100 lakh bales. The cotton purchase during the lastseason stood at 27.5 lakh bales," Cotton Corporation of India(CCI) Chairman and Managing Director Subhash Grover told PTI. The cotton output is expected to rise to a minimum of 320lakh bales in 2008-09 from 315 lakh bales last year, he said. CCI, the nodal agency for cotton procurement, is set tostart purchasing in the next 3-4 days from Punjab, Haryana andRajasthan, Grover said. Buying from the central zone-- MadhyaPradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat--is likely to commence fromthe third week of October. Cotton procurement from the southern region, comprisingAndhra Pradesh, Karnataka, is expected to begin from the firstweek of November, he added. The cotton season runs fromOctober to September. The gap between the expected procurement figures persistsfor the moment, as the picture is still a bit hazy in globalmarkets, he said. Grover attributed the large-scale procurement by the CCIto the substantial hike in cotton MSP, which could prompttraders to scout for alternative avenues for buying. The government has sharply increased the MSP of standardcotton (long staple) to Rs 3,000 per quintal for 2008-09 fromRs 2,030 in the previous year. The MSP of medium staple cottonhas been raised to Rs 2,500 from Rs 1,800 per quintal. MSP apart, the declining price of the commodity globallymay move bulk consumers towards the overseas market, Groversaid. (PTI)