India: Cotton Harvest to Reach Record High

Cotton production in India, the world’s second-biggest producer and exporter, will climb to a record due to above-average monsoon rainfall, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said.

“The growing areas have received very good rains,” Pawar said in an interview yesterday. Damage to the cotton crop from excess rain is limited, he said, and that “excessive rains in some areas will not impact the total output. Production should reach a record.” The harvest was the highest ever at 35.2 million bales in 2011/12, according to agriculture ministry data. Production was 34 million bales in 2012-2013.

A larger crop in India may curb an 18% rally in New York futures this year. The country had the best start to the monsoon since 1994, with rainfall 15% above the 50-year average, according to the India Meteorological Department. That boosted seeding of crops from rice to cotton and sugar cane. Planting increased to 26.9 million acres as of August 2 from 25 million acres a year earlier, according to the agriculture ministry.