Indian cotton stocks could fall to their lowest level in nearly two decades, by a margin of 16 per cent in 2022-23, said a leading trade body. This may be a result of lower crop yields due to adverse weather, it speculated.
Exports may be limited from the world’s biggest producer, as a result of lower stockpiles in the next marketing year starting from October 1 and lead to supporting global prices. Thai could also result in domestic prices going up and hamper the margins of domestic textile manufacturers.
The Cotton Association of India (CAI) said that the cotton stocks at the end of 2022-23 could fall to 2.69 million bales, which would be the lowest cince 2003-04. The CAI also added that 31.3 million bales of cotton is likely to be produced in the country in the current season ending on September 30, which is a fall of 2.6 per cent from an earlier estimate.
Likely to lead to lower cotton shipments from India, this drop in output will allow countries like the US, Australia and Brazil to increase their shipments to key buyers in Asia such as China and Pakistan. The CAI added that cotton exports for India in the season could fall to 3 million bales from 4.3 million bales a year ago.
