INDIAN COTTON INDUSTRY AT A GLANCE IN 2022 - 2023 India is the largest producer of cotton globally. Cotton grows over 11.7 million hectares in India compared to 31.2 million hectares globally. The Indian cotton industry provides livelihood to about 60 million people.
India’s total production of cotton in the year 2021-22 was 31.2 million bales and in 2022-23 it stood at 34.1 million bales. Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh are the main producers of cotton in India, with Gujarat being the highest producer at 8.52 million bales. Saurashtra constitutes about 70% of Gujarat’s cotton production. Yavatamal, Buldhana, Akola Amravati Nagpur Washim, and Wardha are the districts of Maharashtra’s major cotton-producing areas.
Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu is the second biggest producer of cotton, producing about 30% of the nation’s cotton, with Telangana producing the largest in the Southern Zone and the third largest in the country, contributing 6.58 million bales.
The cotton textiles industry is the second largest employer in the country after agriculture, while also sustaining the livelihoods of an estimated 6.5 million cotton farmers and driving a large export market.
Cotton ExportsThe value of the exports amounted to US$ 10.78 billion in 2022, US$ 6.3 billion in the year 2021. India’s total cotton exports were 4.25 million bales in 2022.
The Government of India along with the export promotion council has set a long-term target of US$ 100 billion for textiles industry exports by 2025-26 and growing productivity from the current level of around 450 Kg lint per hectare to at least 800-900 Kg lint per hectare.
In FY23, exports of cotton yarn were valued at US$ 2.75 billion, that of cotton fabrics and made-ups were US$ 6.81 billion.
In 2022, India exported cotton to over 159 countries. Bangladesh, China, and Vietnam were India’s major cotton importers in 2022. Collectively, the three nations accounted for 60% of India’s total exports. In terms of cotton yarn exports, about 275 million kg of cotton yarn was exported from India to China out of the total exports of 980 million kg. China was the largest importer of yarn from India followed by Bangladesh which imported 225 million kg of cotton yarn. Vietnam and Peru are among the key export destination for India’s cotton yarn with exports of 56 million kg and 53 million kg.
