Significant drop in output hits cotton arrivals in Wardha

Wardha: Cotton arrivals in Wardha district have dropped sharply this season due to a significant decline in production, affecting farmers as well as the cotton processing industry.During the 2024-25 season, the district had recorded cotton arrivals of around 1.11 lakh quintals. However, in the ongoing 2025-26 season, arrivals so far have been limited to just 45,000 quintals, officials said.
At present, the CCI rate for cotton is 8,010/quintal, while private purchase centres are buying cotton at around 7,900/quintal. Farmers are facing difficulties as new CCI registrations have been stopped, though CCI procurement is expected to continue till Feb 28.Vilash Chandankhede, a farmer from Goji village, said the fall in cotton production was mainly due to poor quality seeds. "Adulterated seeds are widely available in the market, due to which farmers did not get expected yield," he said. He added many farmers purchased seeds from Andhra Pradesh.Chandankhede said excessive rainfall this year damaged the crop, with cotton bolls failing to flower. "The cotton arriving in the market is of light picking, resulting in lower weight," he said, adding that higher input costs and the non-availability of the expected rate of 10,000/quintal had pushed farmers into financial distress.Wardha Agricultural Produce Market Committee secretary Sameer Pedke said that although cotton production exists in the district, price fluctuations have discouraged farmers from bringing their produce to the market. "About 25% farmers who have storage facilities have stored cotton at home," he said.Ginning mill owner Piyush Thakkar from Waigaon said cotton does not require excess water, but continuous rainfall till Sept and Oct caused major damage to the first crop.