HYDERABAD: Agriculture Minister Singireddy Niranjan Reddy said that Telangana's cotton was No. 1 in the country, quality-wise. The State also stood first in the country in procurement of cotton by Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) over the last two years, he said.
"As there's good demand for Telangana’s cotton in the international market, private entrepreneurs are purchasing the produce from farmers at a price higher than the MSP," he said.
He added that the CCI had procured 21.62 lakh metric tonnes (LMTs) of cotton during the marketing season 2019-20 from 9,14,794 farmers at a cost of Rs 11,749 crore. In 2020-21, the corporation procured 17.89 LMTs of the produce from about 5,49,136 farmers at Rs 10,167 crore.
"Cotton cultivation has reduced this year due to heavy rains. Cotton was cultivated only in 46.27 lakh acres against the estimated 65-70 lakh acres," the Minister said.