Chandigarh, November 9:
Nearly 13 lakh quintal cotton has been purchased by the procurement agencies till date thus registering 61 percent increase over the corresponding period of the previous year.
Disclosing this here today, Chairman Punjab Mandi Board Lal Singh on Monday stated that heavy arrival and procurement of cotton so far was an outcome of smooth weather conditions across the State.
The Chairman further revealed that 13.06 lakh quintal of cotton arrived so far has been procured as compared to last year arrival of 8.11 lac quintal. Out of 13.06 lac quintal, the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) has procured 10.58 lakh quintals while 2.47 lakh quintals have been procured by the private traders. He pointed out that almost 80 percent procurement has been done by CCI on Minimum Support Price through a network of 22 designated Cotton procurement centres including 6 new centres at Talwandi Sabo, Tapa, Bhikhi, Bareta, Lehragaga and Muktsar during this year.
Lal Singh further said that the favourable weather conditions have resulted in better quality of cotton thus leading to increased quantity this year. He also divulged that the CCI had commenced the procurement from 5th October in ensuring instant procurement of cotton arriving in the mandis so far. CCI The Chairman said that during 2019-20 procurement season, a total of 43.04 lakh quintal cotton was procured whereas in the current season till now, 13.06 lakh quintal cotton has been procured with arrival still continuing.
