ADILABAD: The irrelevance of minimum support price (MSP) operations has made the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) consider going in for commercial operations in cotton purchase. According to sources, the CCI may begin operations in the district sometime in the second half of December in case the upward trend in cotton price persists.

This is the second consecutive season the CCI is roped in to carry MSP operations because of the low and unremunerative price. "However, lower yields and demand for cotton in international market gave an uptrend to the trade in the recent days," says a marketing official.

The CCI used to purchase some 5 to 6 lakh quintals of cotton to make about 1 lakh bales every year in Adilabad. So far this year, it has purchased only some 16,000 quintals at its 16 purchase centres in the district. The two main reasons for farmers shying away from the organisation is insistence on pattadar passbooks and better rates prevailing in the open market.

Good track record

The CCI's Adilabad branch has always been a profit-making unit through its commercial operations. "We used to earn over Rs. 5 crores every year since we started our operations in the district. We incurred losses only during our MSP operations. ," sources said.

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