Where Cotton Is Grown
Gujarat (Saurashtra: Rajkot, Amreli, Surendranagar, Bhavnagar) and Maharashtra (Vidarbha: Yavatmal, Akola, Amravati, Wardha; Marathwada; Khandesh: Jalgaon) grow the largest areas. Telangana (Adilabad, Warangal, Nalgonda) is third. In the north, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan grow irrigated cotton; Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu complete the map.
How Cotton Is Grown and Ginned
Almost all Indian cotton is Bt hybrid, sown with the monsoon (earlier in the irrigated north) and hand-picked in several rounds. Pink bollworm resistance to Bt, erratic rain and high labour costs are the big challenges. Farmers sell seed cotton (kapas) in APMCs or directly to ginners. Ginning factories separate lint from seed and press the lint into bales of 170 kg; the seed goes for oil and cake (see Cottonseed). Bales go to spinning mills in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Punjab, or to export.
Sowing
April–May in the north, June–July with the monsoon elsewhere.Arrivals
October to February; the cotton year runs October to September.CCI buying
Opens with arrivals in October and runs while prices are below MSP.Cotton Markets and Ginning Centres
- Rajkot and Gondal, GujaratSaurashtra kapas and ginning hubAboutExplore
- Kadi, GujaratNorth Gujarat ginning clusterAboutExplore
- Akola and Yavatmal, MaharashtraVidarbha cottonAboutExplore
- Adilabad and Warangal, TelanganaTelangana cottonAboutExplore
- Sirsa and BathindaNorth India cottonAboutExplore
Government, Trade Bodies and Exchange
- Cotton Corporation of India (CCI)Buys kapas at MSP; sells bales by e-auctionAboutExplore
- Cotton Association of India (CAI)Mumbai · trade body; crop estimatesAboutExplore
- Kasturi Cotton BharatBranding and traceability for premium Indian cottonAboutExplore
- MCX cotton candy futuresExchange price benchmarkAboutExplore
Textile Mills (Big Cotton Buyers)
- Vardhman Textiles LtdLudhiana · one of India's largest spinning companiesAboutExplore
- Arvind LtdAhmedabad · denim and fabricsAboutExplore
- Trident LtdLudhiana · yarn, towels and home textilesAboutExplore
- KPR Mill LtdCoimbatore · yarn and garmentsAboutExplore
- Welspun Living LtdHome textilesAboutExplore
Seeds and Technology
- Rasi Seeds Pvt LtdAttur · cotton hybrid seedsAboutExplore
- Nuziveedu Seeds LtdHyderabad · cotton seedsAboutExplore
- Mahyco (Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company Pvt Ltd)Jalna · cotton seedsAboutExplore
- ICAR – Central Institute for Cotton ResearchNagpurAboutExplore
More on the textile chain: GarmentIndustry.in.
Quality and Price Drivers
Cotton lint is graded by staple length (for example 28–29 mm Shankar-6 type from Gujarat, longer extra-long staple from the south), micronaire (fineness), strength, trash and colour. Indian prices follow ICE New York futures, the size of the Indian crop, CCI buying at MSP, mill demand and export opportunities to Bangladesh, Vietnam and China. Pink bollworm damage and weather decide crop size.
Cotton by State
Tap a state for its districts, markets, government buying and buyers.
Processed Products
Related: Cotton · Cashew · Coconut · Arecanut · Rubber · Tobacco · Dry Fruits · All crops · Soils.in for farmer help · Cottonseed
Names are listed for reference only and do not imply endorsement or affiliation. The About and Explore buttons open Google in a new tab; results there are generated by Google and third parties, not by this site. Prices, MSP, export rules and schemes change often. Nothing here is financial, legal or purchasing advice. Full disclaimer