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?

The MSP for medium-staple cotton is ₹8,267 per quintal for 2026–27 and ₹8,667 for long-staple, approved by the CCEA on 13 May 2026. Both rose ₹557, the second-largest absolute increase of any kharif crop this season.

What is the cotton yield per acre in India?

India's average cotton yield is 436 kg of lint per hectare, about 1.8 quintals an acre. Note the unit: that is lint, while MSP is paid per quintal of kapas (seed cotton), and lint is roughly a third of kapas by weight — so an average acre carries around 5 quintals of kapas.

What is the cost of cultivation of cotton per quintal?

CACP puts the cost of producing medium-staple cotton at ₹5,511 per quintal for 2026–27, covering paid-out expenses plus the imputed value of family labour. Against the ₹8,267 MSP that leaves about ₹2,756 a quintal, a margin of exactly 50%.

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.

Bt cotton is an insect-resistant hybrid cotton that now accounts for the vast majority of India's cotton area.

Kharif

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

MSP · medium staple

₹8,267

per quintal

CCEA / CACP (PIB) · KMS 2026–27

MSP · long staple

₹8,667

per quintal

CCEA / CACP (PIB) · KMS 2026–27

Area

12.69 M ha

area under cotton

DES — Agricultural Statistics at a Glance 2024 · 2023–24

Yield

436 kg/ha

1.8 quintals of lint per acre

DES — Agricultural Statistics at a Glance 2024 · 2023–24

Cost of production

₹5,511

per quintal (A2+FL), medium staple

CACP via CCEA (PIB) · KMS 2026–27

World producer

No. 2

after China

FAOSTAT · reference

World area

No. 1

largest cotton area

FAOSTAT / USDA · reference

Top state

Gujarat

9.05M bales

DES crop estimates · 2023–24

Growing season

Kharif

Jun–Feb

DA&FW · reference

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).

Ministry of Agriculture / cotton estimates (DES) · 2023–24

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 — ₹8,267 per quintal for medium staple and ₹8,667 for long staple in 2026–27, each ₹557 above the previous season and the second-largest absolute rise of any kharif crop. The Cotton Corporation of India procures when market prices fall below the MSP.

What a quintal earns over cost. CACP puts the cost of growing medium-staple cotton at ₹5,511 per quintal (A2+FL — paid-out expenses plus imputed family labour). Every quintal sold at MSP therefore returns about ₹2,756 over that cost, a margin of exactly 50% — the statutory floor the 1.5× formula allows. Mind the units: India's average cotton yield is 436 kg of lint per hectare — about 1.8 quintals an acre — but MSP is paid per quintal of *kapas* (seed cotton), and lint is only about a third of kapas by weight. An average acre therefore carries roughly 5 quintals of kapas, worth on the order of ₹14,600 over cost at MSP. The kapas conversion is ours, not an official figure, and yields swing widely with rainfall and pink bollworm pressure.

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?: The MSP for medium-staple cotton is ₹8,267 per quintal for 2026–27 and ₹8,667 for long-staple, approved by the CCEA on 13 May 2026. Both rose ₹557, the second-largest absolute increase of any kharif crop this season.
What is the cotton yield per acre in India?: India's average cotton yield is 436 kg of lint per hectare, about 1.8 quintals an acre. Note the unit: that is lint, while MSP is paid per quintal of kapas (seed cotton), and lint is roughly a third of kapas by weight — so an average acre carries around 5 quintals of kapas.
What is the cost of cultivation of cotton per quintal?: CACP puts the cost of producing medium-staple cotton at ₹5,511 per quintal for 2026–27, covering paid-out expenses plus the imputed value of family labour. Against the ₹8,267 MSP that leaves about ₹2,756 a quintal, a margin of exactly 50%.
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.