Monsoon Advances, Output Forecasts Rise in India
According to a June 14 report on Bloomberg.com, weather conditions in India are “favorable” for the continued advance of the monsoon into parts of the country’s larger cotton-growing states.
Rains are expected to advance into parts of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh and Orissa, according to the India Meteorological Department.
In related news, new figures released this week by the Cotton Association of India are forecasting the cotton crop to be 305.5 lakh bales in the 2009-10 season, up from the 290.75 lakh bales harvested in 2008-09. Gujarat is expected to output12 more lakh bales than it did one year ago (an estimated 102 lakh bales in 2009-10; 90 lakh bales in 2008-09). This month’s estimate for India’s 2009-10 production is up about 1.5 lakh bales over last month’s estimate.