High demand for cotton in the domestic as well as international market has soared the happiness of cotton farmers of Saurashtra,the hub of cotton farming. Demand for cotton in Pakistan, China, Vietnam and Indonesia has gone up considerably, pushing the price of cotton by around Rs 400 per quintal in the last one week.

Against the MSP plus bonus price of Rs 954, cotton farmers are now getting Rs 1,100 per cotton bale in the market yards with commitments of around four lakh bales being placed.

According to traders, the prices of benchmark Shankar-6 variety, widely grown in Gujarat, are being quoted in the range of Rs 40,200 to Rs 40,600 per candy currently (a candy weighs 356 kg).

A trader Dalal said that the price even touched Rs 41,000 per candy. However, it has come down from that level with improvement in arrivals of cotton in local markets, which had slowed down on account of marriage season and elections few weeks back.

As far as local market is concerned, around 42,000 to 44,000 bales of cotton are arriving daily in the market. So far, 20 lakh bales have arrived in the market in Gujarat.

B R Tejani, secretary of the Rajkot APMC, said that the farmers are currently getting more price than the MSP declared by the government. The MSP was Rs 854 and a bonus of Rs 100 announced by the Gujarat government. He further said the increase in the price was because of the increase in demand.

Traders and exporters estimate that around 15 lakh bales so far this season have been booked for exports in India, of which nine lakhs have been dispatched. The cotton shipments from Gujarat have been 3.5 lakh to four lakh bales.