India’s cotton production is expected to decline to 29.9 million bales in 2024-25, the lowest in six years, due to reduced plantings and stagnant yields. A decade ago, in 2013-14, Indian farmers harvested a record 39 million bales, with one bale equating to 170 kg. While domestic needs have so far been met by the 30-31 million bales of annual production, the current fall threatens India’s textile export sector. In 2023-24, India’s cotton textile exports reached $10.4 billion, including garments, fabric, and yarn. Additionally, the country exported raw cotton worth $1.1 billion.
India aims to achieve $100 billion in textile exports by 2030. Cotton accounts for roughly one-third of the nation’s exports, with the rest being man-made and other natural fibers like wool, silk, and jute.
Improving cotton yields is seen as crucial for maintaining India’s edge in textile exports. Better yields will help cotton compete with man-made fibers (MMF), which are cheaper and offer enhanced functional properties like breathability, says Prabhu Damodaran, Convenor, Indian Texpreneurs Federation. Cotton remains a preferred material across markets and that every additional $1 billion in apparel exports could generate at least 150,000 jobs, he emphasises.
Valued at $165 billion, India’s textile exports are projected to grow to $350 billion by 2030, indicating an increase in demand for raw cotton beyond the current 31 million bales requirement in 2024-25. The sector employs 45 million workers directly, with another 6 million farmers involved in cotton cultivation.
In recent years, a spike in international cotton prices has led manufacturers to turn to MMF. The share of synthetic fibers in the textile sector has surged from 10 per cent to 30 per cent in the last 2-3 years, according to Raja Shanmugan, a textile exporter from Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu. He warns that India’s lower cotton output could force manufacturers to rely on imports if farmers switch to other crops.
USDA forecasts, India may become a net cotton importer in 2024-25, only the second occurrence in 20 years. This shift is partly due to falling global cotton prices, which may affect the competitiveness of Indian exports.
