Cotton Corporation s Role

Cotton Corporation's Role D P Sharma INQUIRIES with knowledgeable persons in the cotton trade about the latest position of the crop indicate that there is a fair chance of the 1991-92 crop improving upon the previous record harvest of 133.5 lakh bales in 1989-90, if only the cotton growing tracts in Saurashtra and Rajasthan receive some rain by the end of the first week of October. Even conservative estimates do not now place the crop below 130 lakh bales. It is said that only unseasonal rains during November- December can upset these calculations. One hopes this does not happen. The cotton mill industry can hopefully look forward to assured supply of raw material during the current season. How cotton prices will move under conditions of improved supply is difficult to predict because factors influencing prices are many