About 111 purchase centres to be opened in Telangana against 84 last year
The Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) has agreed to open cotton procurement (purchase) centres from October 16 in Telangana to enable farmers get minimum support price of ₹4,320 per quintal fixed by the Centre with certain quality specifications including moisture content up to 8%.
Minister for Marketing T. Harish Rao announced this here on Friday after speaking to Director of Marketing, CCI, M.M. Chockalingam over phone. The Minister requested the CCI executive to open the purchase centre immediately since it has already been delayed as arrivals of cotton had already commenced in Telangana and traders were paying less than MSP to farmers.
More centres
The State government has already requested the CCI to increase the number of procurement centres to 143 this year against 84 operated last year in the wake of highest-ever cultivation of cotton in Telangana. The fibre crop was cultivated in about 19.09 lakh hectares with favourable weather conditions, although the crop suffered a couple of dry spells during the vegetative growth stage.
Official sources stated that the CCI had agreed to open 111 procurement centres so far and the efforts were on to increase the number. The production of cotton is expected to be about 60 lakh bales although the initial estimates have put the output less than 50 lakh bales.
Mr. Harish Rao urged the CCI to open the procurement centres in Badepally, Gajwel, Ghanpur, Jammikunta, Karimnagar, Peddapally, Parkal, Warangal and other areas to begin with. He also appealed to farmers not to sell their cotton produce for less than MSP and also to take care that the moisture content remained less than 8%.
Source: www.thehindu.com