Hyderabad: The CCI cotton procurement period in Telangana has been extended until the end of February following a request from Agriculture and Marketing Minister Tummala Nageshwar Rao.
The Minister said the Cotton Corporation of India agreed to prolong the procurement window to prevent inconvenience to cotton farmers. He stated that both the Central government and CCI recognised the need for the extension and responded positively.
Tummala explained that cotton cultivation in Telangana began late this season. As a result, market arrivals of the produce were also delayed. Therefore, he formally approached the Centre seeking an extension of the procurement deadline.
He also urged Union Ministers Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay to raise the issue with the concerned authorities. According to him, the move aimed to safeguard the interests of farmers awaiting sale of their produce.
Delayed arrivals prompt CCI cotton procurement extension
This year, cotton cultivation covered 45.32 lakh acres across Telangana. Officials estimated total production at 28.29 lakh metric tonnes.
So far, CCI cotton procurement stood at 16.15 lakh metric tonnes. The agency purchased this quantity for Rs. 12,823 crore from 8,80,053 farmers.
In addition, marketing officials said 2.24 lakh metric tonnes of substandard cotton were procured through the market. However, they estimated that nearly 9.99 lakh metric tonnes of cotton still remained with farmers in the state.
The extension until February end is expected to help farmers sell the remaining stock without distress.