Cotton body ups India year to Sep output estimate to 33.7 mln bales.

The Cotton Association of India has increased its estimate for India’s cotton output in the year ending September to 33.7 mln bales (1bale=170kg). In its May report, the association had projected the country’s cotton crop at 33.6 mln bales. The association has increased its forecast for cotton import by 8% to 2.7 mln bales, while estimates for mill consumption is left unchanged at 27.0 mln bales. The association has estimated cotton exports in 2016-17 (Oct-Sep) at 6.3 mln bales, compared with 6.0 mln bales projected in May. Production in the central zone, which includes Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh, is estimated at 19.75 mln bales, against 18.48 mln bales in the previous year. The association expects output in the northern zone, which includes Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan, to rise to 4.58 mln bales from 4.05 mln bales in the previous year, while the southern zone is expected to produce around 8.9 mln bales, compared with 10.75 mln bales in 2015-16.