As both the Agriculture and Textile ministries have an interest in the cotton crop, the Cotton Advisory Board (CAB) has set up a sub-committee that will work jointly to lay out a roadmap to ensure sustainable cotton production, according to a senior official in the Ministry of Textiles.

This follows concerns that actual cotton production could turn out to be lesser than estimates. Industry sources here said that in its previous meeting, the CAB had estimated that the cotton production this season (October 2015-September 2016) would touch 352 lakh bales.

However, the actual production could be lower than the estimated level, with the average yield now being 500 kg per hectare as against 570 kg a hectare a few years ago.

K.N. Viswanathan, vice-president of the Indian Cotton Federation said that a clearer picture would emerge only after the monsoon set in. However, the area under cotton in the Punjab, Rajasthan, and Haryana is expected to decline, even as farmers in Maharashtra and Telengana show little interest in the crop.

According to sources in the trade, the price of Shankar 6, popular variety of cotton with textile mills, was Rs. 33,300 a candy on April 1, going up to Rs. 36,500 a candy by the end of April, before settling at Rs. 35,000. As per official, there is no complaint of shortage of cotton as they have adequate stocks.