HYDERABAD: State Agriculture Minister Thummala Nageshwar Rao has directed officials to ensure smooth cotton procurement during the 2026-27 Kharif season, guarantee farmers the minimum support price (MSP) and explore opportunities to establish spinning units in Telangana.
He asked officials to prevent procurement delays, monitor market prices and ensure efficient operations in view of the possibility of lower yields due to El Nino.
Officials informed the minister that cotton was cultivated on 48.20 lakh acres in Telangana this season, with production estimated at 29.43 lakh metric tonnes. Last season, cultivation covered 50.73 lakh acres, yielding 28.33 lakh metric tonnes.
Nationwide, cotton cultivation covered 271.06 lakh acres this season, with estimated production of 133.04 lakh metric tonnes, against 148.02 lakh metric tonnes last year.
The Centre has fixed the MSP for the 2026-27 Kharif marketing season at Rs 8,667 per quintal, while market prices are around Rs 9,000 per quintal.
Telangana has 356 ginning mills with a total processing capacity of 1,09,035 bales. Of these, 335 mills across 30 districts have been notified as procurement centres.
Responding to concerns over limited processing and spinning capacity, Thummala asked officials to explore opportunities to expand the industry. He directed marketing department and CCI officials to review open-market prices daily.