Domestic cotton prices eased further after the Government announced the removal of duty on imports from June 1 till October 30, while futures on ICE gained marginally on Monday. Following the announcement, a section of the mills have booked some quantity for imports, sources said.

On Monday, the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) reduced its sale price by Rs 700 per candy (356 kg) for the 2025-26 crop on Monday. But the state-run entity received a muted response with a demand of around 700 bales, mainly from the millers segment, while there were bids from the traders, sources said. Cotton futures on ICE were up 1.68 per cent to hover around 77.44 cents per pound on Monday.

“Domestic prices are under pressure as buyers are quiet. Moreover, with the duty free imports allowed, buyers have more option now. They can import or buy from the domestic resellers, CCI, from MNCs,” said Ramanuj Das Boob, a sourcing agent in Raichur.

ICE prices up 47%

The government, on Saturday, announced that import duty on cotton will be exempted from June 1 till Oct 31 to augment availability of the fibre crop to the textile sector. In the recent months, cotton prices had surged following the global price trend. ICE cotton futures had gained around 47 per cent since early February this year to touch 88 cents per pound on May 11, and have eased in the recent days and are hovering around 77 cents per pound.

Anand Popat of CotYarn Tradelink said the removal of import duty would primarily benefit the spinning inudstry. Spinners would be able to import cotton from any origin and export yarn at more competitive prices in the international market. As the textiles sector would gain easier access to contamination free cotton, enabling production of higher-quality yarns and finished products, thereby resulting in likely increase of yarn, fabrics and textile products, he said.

Popat said the new import contracts are expected to start arriving in India during the second half of July and consumption may increase due to improved availability of imported cotton and wider range of quality options. Further, the availability of imported cotton could influence the domestic price trends and Indian cotton may become less sensitive to rising ICE cotton futures, depending on the import parity and supply availability.

Area may rise 7%

On Friday, CCI had resumed the sale and also reduced the prices by Rs 2,300 per candy.

CCI, which has procured about 105 lakh bales of 170 kg each, has sold a major chunk of the cotton and stocks with the state-run entity are estimated at around 32 lakh bales. CCI, which began selling the 2025-26 crop procured at the minimum support price from around Rs 57,200 per candy of 356 kgs reduced the prices initially to about Rs 54,600 and subsequently increased the prices gradually to up to Rs 68,600 levels.

Earlier, the trade body Cotton Association of India (CAI) said that it expects the cotton area to rise by around 7 per cent in the upcoming kharif cropping season as farmers, encouraged by the remunerative prices are set to expand the acreages.

Cotton was planted in about 114.82 lakh hectares during 2025-26, according to the Agriculture Ministry data. For the 2026-27 marketing season, the Centre has increased minimum support price by Rs 557 per quintal to Rs 8267 for medium staple and Rs 8667 for long staple.

Published on June 1, 2026