The Cotton Association President Ashok D Data has said that cotton prices are expected to remain stable in the near future if the current trend in domestic and export consumption continues.

The crop scenario for 2007-2008 is progressing smoothly. Cotton sowing in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan is over and preliminary estimates showed that the area under cotton cultivation had gone up by 7% in Punjab and by 25% in Rajasthan. In the south, sowing was completed in about 90% of the area under cotton cultivation in Andhra Pradesh.In Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, cotton sowing was reported to be completed and the area under cotton was expected to increase by 5-8 % in these three states.

Cotton consumption in the country has gone up from 168 lakh bales in 2002-2003 to 240 lakh bales in 2006-2007. Due to the increasing spindle age and an encouraging demand for cotton, this year we are sitting on a very low stock-to-use ratio of only 44 lakh bales.