Farmers likely to increase acreage of ELS cotton

Mumbai, May 28 (UNI) Cotton growers this year are likely to increase the crop area under DCH-32, the extra long staple (ELS) cotton, sensing the rising demand for the strains that yield the 34/36 mm fibre length and whose shortage is widely felt for the last two seasons among the domestic spinners.

The farmers in traditional ELS gowring tracts in Karnataka, one of the major DCH-32 growing States, are gearing up for allocating higher acreage this time, despite their worry of finding quality seeds for the sowing, according the latest cotton statistics and news issued by East India Cotton Association.

The higher price realisation seen for ELS cotton strains during 2005-06 season has been a strong factor for the cotton farmers showing greater interest on sowing the DCH-32 variety. Sensing the demand for the ELS, major cotton seed producers are gearing up to increase their ELS seed output and reach out to the growers sufficiently in advance.

Of the overall demand for the ELS cotton among 8-9 lakh bales or so, the projected shortfall despite the increased output of DCH-32 variety will be around 15 to 20 per cent, whilch will continue to be met through imports the spinning industry, sources said.

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