The centre had fixed a minimum support price of Rs 7,020 per quintal for the long staple cotton variety that is widely grown in Telangana

Hyderabad: The cotton prices may rule above the minimum support price this time and the administration is fully prepared for the marketing season that is to commence towards the end of October or early November, said Director of Agriculture Marketing G Lakshmi Bai on Wednesday.

The centre had fixed a minimum support price of Rs 7,020 per quintal for the long staple cotton variety that is widely grown in the State. Cotton with long and lustrous fiber has been fetching a god price.

The MSP for the medium staple cotton was fixed at Rs 6,620 per quintal. On the whole there was an increase of Rs 540 to 640 per quintal over the previous year. The CCI had a limited role in cotton purchases last year as the prevailing prices were high compared to the MSP.

More or less 2022-2023 was a good year for the cotton growers as they were able to sell their good and outstanding produce fetching as high as Rs 12,000 per quintal. But the farmers found themselves in distress because of the dip in prices subsequntly. The drop in cotton area in the state was in the order of five lakh acres this year, said the Marketing Director.

Hopefully the season will start on a positive note. If the prices are below the MSP, the CCI would come into the picture and make purchases from the growers. The process for notification of the purchase centres was already on. The ginning mills fulfilling the norms of the CCI would make it to the list. The Marketing Department has always been with the farmers in respect of all their crops as desired by the government, she added.