Maharashtra procured record 218.73 lakh quintal cotton this year despite the COVID-19 pandemic and onset of monsoon. This was the highest government procurement of cotton in the last ten years, said a statement from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).
The purchased cotton was worth Rs 11,776.89 crore, out of which farmers have been paid Rs 11,029.47 crore so far. The CCI and the State Cotton Federation had procured 91.90 lakh quintal and 54.03 lakh quintal cotton, respectively, before the coronavirus outbreak, it said.
During the pandemic, farmers preferred selling cotton at government procurement centres since market rates were lower than the minimum support price (MSP) of the government. Since the coronavirus outbreak, the CCI procured 35.70 lakh quintal and State Cotton Federation procured 36.75 lakh quintal cotton, it said.
In total, 418.8 lakh quintal cotton has been procured by the government and private traders together. Procurement was made from 864,072 farmers.
