Cotton Farmers Lose Rs 1,000 MSP Per Quintal Due to High Moisture

Farmers said they were facing heavy losses as nearly 90 per cent of them are receiving less than ₹7,000 per quintal for cotton with moisture content above 12 per cent, against the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of ₹8,110. The CCI deducts ₹81 per quintal from the MSP for every one per cent increase in moisture above the permissible 8 per cent.

CCI officials have refused to procure cotton with moisture content exceeding 12 per cent. Farmers, however, claimed that even after drying the crop for three to four days, the moisture level remains close to 20 per cent before reaching the market yard.

On Monday, cotton farmers staged a protest at the Adilabad market yard, halting procurement and demanding that CCI purchase their produce irrespective of the moisture level. They argued that otherwise, they would be forced to sell to private traders at lower prices, around ₹6,900 per quintal. Following the protest, local MLA Payal Shankar and collector Rajarshi Shah intervened, holding talks with private ginning mill owners and convincing them to buy cotton at ₹6,950 per quintal without factoring in moisture levels.

Despite the intervention, farmers continued to suffer a loss of nearly ₹1,000 per quintal compared to the MSP. Private traders are reportedly taking advantage of the situation by purchasing large quantities at lower prices before rates rise in the international market. By the end of the season, when most farmers have already sold their produce, private traders and the CCI start offering higher prices for cotton with 8 per cent moisture content.

It was also noted that farmers who failed to book slots on the Kappas Kisan App, introduced by CCI for cotton procurement, are forced to sell their produce to private traders at cheaper prices, undermining the app’s purpose in procurement operations.

Meanwhile, on October 25, agriculture minister Thummala Nageswara Rao wrote to Union textiles minister Giriraj Singh, highlighting the distress faced by cotton farmers in Telangana. He urged the Union minister to intervene and permit procurement of cotton with up to 20 per cent moisture content so that farmers can receive MSP benefits. Nageswara Rao explained that due to prevailing weather conditions in October and November, the moisture content in cotton typically ranges between 12 and 20 per cent.

He requested the Union minister to instruct CCI authorities to take appropriate measures to ensure smooth and effective implementation of MSP operations in Telangana in the interest of farmers’ welfare.