Indian cotton prices extended gains on Monday, with the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) raising prices by ₹700 per candy (356 kg) on firm demand from mills amid depleting stocks, according to The Hindu BusinessLine. Pressed bale cotton traded in the range of ₹67,500–68,500 per candy, while resellers and multinational traders quoted roughly ₹1,000 above CCI levels.
Price rally deepens
Over the past two weeks, CCI cotton prices have surged by around ₹1,400 per candy, said Ramanuj Das Boob, a sourcing agent in Raichur. He attributed the firmness to delayed new-crop arrivals caused by the late onset of the monsoon and the consequent delay in sowing.
"Overall prices of CCI cotton are up by around ₹1,400 per candy in the past two weeks as the cotton market continued to rule firm as the arrival of new crop is delayed due to the late onset of monsoon and consequent delay in sowing," Das Boob said.
Despite the price increase, CCI is witnessing good sales daily. Monday's sales were estimated at around 70,000 bales, following sales of roughly 2 lakh bales last week. Cumulative CCI sales are estimated at around 91.5 lakh bales, with unsold stocks of approximately 14 lakh bales.
Acreage catches up
Cotton acreage in India, which trailed last year's levels for most of the sowing season, has now caught up, with area estimated at over 106 lakh hectares (lh) as of last Friday. The Hindu BusinessLine reported state-wise variations:
| State | Current acreage (lh) | Previous year (lh) |
|---|---|---|
| Gujarat | 20.87 | 20.35 |
| Telangana | 19.05 | 17.68 |
| Maharashtra | 37.84 | 38.28 |
| Karnataka | 6.97 | 7.59 |
| Rajasthan | 5.53 | 6.28 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 5.81 | 5.56 |
| Andhra Pradesh | 3.46 | 3.29 |
| Odisha | 2.24 | 2.06 |
| Tamil Nadu | 0.50 | 0.05 |
Compared with the previous year, acreage was higher in Gujarat, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Odisha, while Maharashtra, Karnataka and Rajasthan saw marginal declines.
Global cues firm
On international markets, ICE cotton futures for December continued to gain and were hovering around 84 cents per pound. Anand Popat of CotYarn TradeLink said "a weaker dollar, weather concerns in the major US cotton growing regions, tightening global stocks expectations and improving demand sentiment supported the market." The USDA's current outlook points towards a tighter global cotton balance in 2026-27, with world mill consumption expected to exceed production and global ending stocks projected to decline, Popat noted in his newsletter CotYarn. Cotton prices in other origins such as Brazil, Australia and Pakistan also regained firmness, broadly following the global strength in international benchmarks.
Demand outlook and stocks
"The Indian market remained firm during the week, supported by improving yarn demand from both domestic and export markets," Popat said. Cotton consumption has strengthened as many spinning mills have shifted towards coarser count yarn production, which generally requires higher raw cotton consumption. Based on the current physical stock position, domestic cotton consumption appears stronger than earlier estimates. Current projections indicate India's closing stocks could decline to around 75–80 lakh bales by the end of September. Limited arrivals, strong mill buying and tight availability of the 2025-26 crop continue to support the Indian cotton market.
Early arrivals emerge
Arrivals of early planted cotton from irrigated tracts of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have begun reaching the market. "Arrivals of raw cotton grown using irrigation are trickling in markets such as Raichur, Bellary and Nalgonda among others and prices are hovering in the range of ₹8,800–9,000 per quintal," Das Boob said.
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