Cotton
Gossypium spp. · Malvaceae (mallows)
India's most important fibre crop and the backbone of its vast textile industry — grown on the world's largest cotton area.
Production · Cotton
32.52M bales
1 bale = 170 kg — 2023–24 Final Estimates
Source: DA&FW Final Estimates 2023–24 (PIB)
2023–24
Key figures
About cotton
Cotton is India's most important fibre crop — the raw material for a textile-and-apparel industry that employs millions and anchors rural incomes across the west, centre, and south.
It is a kharif crop, sown with the pre-monsoon and monsoon rains and picked over a long autumn-to-winter window. India grows cotton on the largest area of any country, though much of it is rain-fed, so yields swing with the monsoon.
Since the mid-2000s, Bt (insect-resistant) hybrids have come to dominate India's cotton fields. The crop yields both lint for spinning and cottonseed, which is crushed for oil and used as cattle feed.
Where it’s grown
Leading producing states
- 1Gujarat9.05M bales
- 2Maharashtra8.04M bales
- 3Telangana5.08M bales
Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana together grow about two-thirds of India's cotton. Figures are DES/cotton crop estimates for 2023–24 (one bale = 170 kg).
How it’s grown
- Season
- Kharif
- Sowing
- April–June
- Picking
- October–February (long window)
- Climate
- Warm, frost-free; 21–30°C
- Water
- Moderate; a large share is rain-fed
Major varieties
Bt cotton hybrids
Insect-resistant hybrids that now cover the vast majority of India's cotton area.
Shankar-6
A widely grown, widely exported long-staple cotton from the west.
Suvin
India's finest extra-long-staple cotton (Tamil Nadu), comparable to Egyptian Giza.
DCH-32
A long-established, high-quality hybrid.
H-4
The world's first commercial cotton hybrid, developed in India by CICR.
Bt-cotton hybrids now dominate India's cotton area; the notable public varieties/hybrids shown here are from ICAR-CICR (not an area-ranked list). ICAR-CICR — cotton varieties.
Economics & trade
Cotton is priced through a Minimum Support Price with two grades — ₹7,710 per quintal for medium staple and ₹8,110 for long staple in the 2025–26 season — and the Cotton Corporation of India procures when market prices fall below the MSP.
India is among the world's largest cotton producers and a major exporter of cotton and cotton yarn; premium extra-long-staple varieties such as Suvin fetch a quality premium comparable to Egyptian cottons.
Uses
- Lint spun into yarn and woven for the textile and apparel industry — cotton's primary use.
- Cottonseed crushed for edible oil, with the residual cake used as protein-rich cattle feed.
- A major source of employment across farming, ginning, spinning, and textiles.
Notable facts
- India has the world's largest area planted to cotton.
- The vast majority of India's cotton is now Bt (insect-resistant) hybrid cotton.
- Suvin, grown in Tamil Nadu, is India's finest extra-long-staple cotton — comparable to Egyptian Giza.
- H-4 was the world's first commercial cotton hybrid, developed in India.
Frequently asked
- In which season is cotton grown in India?
- Cotton is a kharif crop — sown from April–June and picked over a long window from October to February.
- What is the MSP of cotton?
- For 2025–26 the MSP is ₹7,710 per quintal for medium-staple cotton and ₹8,110 for long-staple (CACP/CCEA).
- Which is the largest cotton-producing state in India?
- Gujarat is India's largest cotton producer (about 9 million bales in 2023–24), followed by Maharashtra and Telangana.
- How much cotton does India produce?
- India produced 32.52 million bales (of 170 kg each) in 2023–24 (Final Estimates) and is among the world's largest producers, with the largest cotton area.
- What is Bt cotton?
- Bt cotton is an insect-resistant hybrid cotton that now accounts for the vast majority of India's cotton area.
Latest cotton coverage
Updated automatically as new cotton coverage is published.