India to emerge as world’s largest cotton producer

• With domestic trade estimating cotton production at around 370 lakh bales of 170 Kg each, India is expected to emerge as the world’s largest cotton producer in 2015-16.
• Cotton output in all major producing countries, barring India, has been anticipated to be lower than the previous season.
• Global cotton production has been estimated at 23.68 million tonnes.
• China has had to vacate its place as the largest producer of cotton to India, according to sources in Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA), the apex body of spinners in the Southern Region.
• According to the reports of United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), cotton production in China and the U.S. has been estimated to be lower by 13.3 per cent and 17.7 per cent respectively, than that in the previous production.
• The anticipated yield to be lower than the previous yield because of deficient rains in the later half of the monsoon season and instances of pest presence in Gujarat and Punjab.

Source: EconomicTimes