According to a new report, India’s total cotton production might fall to the level of 32.3 million in 2012-13 marketing year from August to July as the farmers in the country would opt for other crops due to uncertainty over government policy on pricing.

The report by the US Department of Agriculture ($A) said that India produced a record 34.25 million bales in the 2011-12 marketing year. India is the second largest cotton grower in the world but farmers have reported to protest over low prices of cotton in the country.

The report read, "Cotton production is forecast to decrease by two million bales to 32.3 million bales as area is expected to drop by 10 per cent.”

The report also noted that the domestic cotton consumption is expected to increase to 26 million bales in 2012-13 compared to 25.3 million bales in 2011-12. The exportable cotton supply from the country will be only 6 million bales in 2012-13 compared to 11.75 million bales this year. This will be due to expected drop in production and higher domestic demand.

According to estimates, the total cotton area in 2012-13 will fall to 10.9 million hectare compared to a record 12.2 million hectares in 2011-12. This would lead to a fall in output in the country.

The union Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has approved the plans t6o purchase 2.5 million bales of cotton worth 5,000 crore following the protests in the state of Gujarat. The cotton will be purchased by the state-run Cotton Corporation of India in and will help keep the price of cotton above the minimum support price following protest by farmers in the state