ADILABAD: There is huge demand for cotton and private cotton traders are desperate to purchase cotton from farmers since there is fall in yield due to rains this kharif in the erstwhile Adilabad district.
It is expected that the cotton price may touch Rs 10,000 per quintal in the near future.
Private cotton traders are, for the first time, posting messages on social media stating that they are offering between Rs 8,300- Rs 8,500 per quintal at their ginning mills and furnishing the factory details in the messages.
This is a new trend that some private cotton traders are using social media to lure farmers to their ginning mills unlike in the past. This was necessitated since the majority of farmers were going to Maharashtra to sell their produce where they were getting more than Rs 9,000 per quintal without measuring moisture content unlike private traders in Adilabad. Cotton farmers are showing interest in selling their cotton in Maharashtra since private traders are reducing the price in the name of high moisture content in cotton.
There is a good demand for cotton in the international market but there was no good yield. Private cotton traders are competing among themselves to purchase cotton. Against this background, private cotton traders are forced to offer good prices that too more than Rs 9,000 though the MSP is Rs 6,250.
A cotton farmer, Marsakola Sarengarao of Mamidiguda of Adilabad Rural mandal, expressed happiness over getting Rs 9,000 per quintal in Maharashtra as farmers suffered huge losses due to crop damage in the kharif because of heavy rains. Farmers say the high price being offered will compensate for the losses to some extent. Sarengarao said the farmers would have been landed in serious trouble if the price was lower this time.
Some private traders are directly purchasing cotton from farmers in villages and offering good prices so that the farmers can save transportation charges to take their cotton to Maharashtra and private ginning factories in Adilabad.
However, the Adilabad market yard has been suffering huge losses since no cotton purchases are taking place in the market. The Adilabad market yard wore a deserted look with no bullock carts and vehicles laden with cotton brought in by the farmers.
Surprisingly, some of the farmers are not selling their cotton right now and instead stocking in their houses and planning to sell the same only when they get Rs 10,000 per quintal.
