ENA Sectors 2024-06-19 14:39:34 <p><span style="font-size:14px"><strong>New Delhi, Jun 19 (KNN)</strong> India's cotton exports are projected to jump by over two-thirds in the 2023-24 season, fuelled by soaring demand from mills in neighbouring Bangladesh, according to the Cotton Association of India (CAI).</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">Export shipments are forecast to reach around 4.42 million bales (of 170 kg each) for the season ending in September, a striking 67.7 per cent rise from the previous year's 2.64 million bales.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px"> Bangladesh mills, operating hand-to-mouth, are buying up Indian cotton as their import shipments from the U.S. and Brazil have been delayed, said Atul Ganatra, President of CAI. They're securing around 170,000-255,000 bales per month from India by road, with deliveries arriving in just 5 days. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">The surge in exports coincides with CAI's upward revision of India's cotton production estimates for 2023-24 to 54.01 million bales, up from 52.53 million bales projected in February. The increase stems largely from farmers offloading old stocks in Central India.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">While production lags last season's 54.15 million bales, India's overall cotton supply of 61.71 million bales eclipses the previous year's 60.41 million due to larger imports and carry-forward stocks hitting the markets.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">Mill consumption is pegged higher at 17.76 million bales for the non-MSME sector and 5.39 million bales for MSMEs.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">With non-textile use steady at 2.72 million bales, CAI estimates total demand at 53.99 million bales, leaving ending stocks trimmed to 3.49 million bales.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px"> Capacity utilisation at spinning mills averages around 90 per cent, with North and Central India at full capacity and the South at 80 per cent, Ganatra noted.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">As the global textile supply chain rebalances, Bangladesh's hunger for Indian cotton underscores the fibres rising export prominence for the subcontinent's production powerhouse.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px"><em><strong>(KNN Bureau)</strong></em></span></p> 38261 https://knnindia.co.in/news/newsdetails/sectors/cotton-export-surge-for-india-as-bangladesh-mills-ramp-up-buying 2024-06-19 14:39:34 knnindia.co.in