India's Cotton Output Drops 17% in Five Years as Raw Cotton Imports Surge Over 80%
India's cotton production has shed more than 61 lakh bales over five cotton years as farmers abandon the crop for better-paying alternatives, forcing the textile industry to double its raw cotton imports and prompting the government to waiv
The short answer
India's cotton output fell from 352.48 lakh bales in 2020-21 to 290.91 lakh bales in 2025-26, a decline of over 17%, driven by shrinking acreage and weakening productivity. Raw cotton imports more than doubled in a single year — rising over 80% to 10,13,455 tonnes in 2025-26 — while cotton yarn imports climbed nearly 20%. To ease the supply crunch, the government has waived the 11% import duty on cotton from June 1 to October 31, 2026.
The decline
Output Slips Below 291 Lakh Bales as Acreage and Yields Both Retreat
India's cotton sector has recorded a sustained contraction over the past five cotton years (October–September), with total output falling from 352.48 lakh bales in 2020-21 to 290.91 lakh bales in 2025-26 (provisional) — a drop of more than 61 lakh bales, or over 17%. The figures were disclosed by Minister of State for Textiles Pabitra Margherita in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, citing Ministry of Textiles data.
The retreat has been broad-based. The area under cotton cultivation contracted from 132.85 lakh hectares in 2020-21 to 114.82 lakh hectares in 2025-26, a loss of over 18 lakh hectares. Productivity has followed a similar downward trajectory, slipping from 451 kg per hectare to 431 kg per hectare over the same period — leaving little buffer even if farmers were to return to the crop.
Farmer calculus
Better Returns Elsewhere Drive Farmers Away From Cotton
The Ministry of Textiles has identified the primary driver of declining output: farmers are shifting to other crops that offer superior returns. Cotton is a resource-intensive crop, demanding significant water, labour, and pest-management expenditure, and its price realisations have increasingly struggled to compete with alternatives such as pulses, oilseeds, and horticulture crops in key growing states.
The ministry's explanation points to a structural challenge that goes beyond weather or pest cycles. Unless cotton becomes more economically competitive at the farm level — whether through better minimum support prices, improved high-yielding varieties, or lower input costs — the acreage slide is unlikely to reverse on its own. The productivity gap, now at 431 kg per hectare, remains well below the potential of improved seed technology, underscoring the need for focused agronomic intervention.
Import surge
Raw Cotton Imports Double in a Year; Yarn Inflows Also Climb
The supply shortfall has translated directly into a sharp escalation in import volumes across both raw material and intermediate product categories.
Raw cotton imports recorded a particularly steep jump:
- Rose from 5,62,224.70 tonnes in 2024-25 to 10,13,455.16 tonnes in 2025-26
- An increase of more than 80% year-on-year
Cotton yarn imports also moved higher, though less dramatically:
- Climbed from 7,564.61 tonnes in 2024-25 to 9,074.13 tonnes in 2025-26
- A rise of 19.96%
On the price front, international cotton prices increased by around 19% during the recent period, while domestic prices of the S-6 cotton variety rose by about 18%, adding to input-cost pressures for spinners and weavers dependent on imported fibre.
Policy response
Government Waives 11% Import Duty to Shore Up Textile Industry Supplies
Faced with tightening domestic availability and rising prices, the government has moved to reduce the cost of sourcing cotton from overseas. The 11% import duty on cotton has been waived for the period June 1 to October 31, 2026, providing a five-month window for mills and traders to build inventories at lower landed costs.
In addition, the duty exemption on Extra Long Staple (ELS) cotton — a speciality variety critical for premium yarn and fabric segments — has remained in place since February 20, 2024, ensuring continued access to quality raw material for higher-value textile manufacturing.
The ministry indicated that cotton and cotton yarn imports have been facilitated whenever necessary to ensure adequate raw-material availability for the domestic textile industry, signalling a pragmatic, supply-security-first approach even as it works on longer-term domestic production strategies.
Why it matters
For India's textile industry — a major employer and export earner — growing dependence on imported cotton raises input costs and supply-chain vulnerability, particularly as international cotton prices have already risen around 19%. The government's duty waiver offers short-term relief, but the underlying structural problem of farmers switching away from cotton due to poor returns demands a longer-term policy response on productivity, price support, and seed technology. Traders and mills should watch whether the duty exemption window, which closes on October 31, 2026, is extended beyond that date.
Frequently asked
- By how much has India's cotton production fallen in the last five years?
- India's cotton production declined by more than 61 lakh bales, or over 17%, falling from 352.48 lakh bales in 2020-21 to 290.91 lakh bales (provisional) in 2025-26, according to the Ministry of Textiles.
- Why have raw cotton imports risen so sharply in 2025-26?
- Lower domestic output — caused by shrinking acreage and weakening productivity — has forced textile mills to source more cotton from overseas. Raw cotton imports rose over 80%, from 5,62,224.70 tonnes in 2024-25 to 10,13,455.16 tonnes in 2025-26.
- What has the government done to address the cotton supply shortage?
- The government has waived the 11% import duty on cotton from June 1 to October 31, 2026, to improve domestic availability. It has also maintained a duty exemption on Extra Long Staple (ELS) cotton since February 20, 2024, to support premium textile manufacturing.
- Why are Indian farmers reducing cotton cultivation?
- According to the Ministry of Textiles, the primary reason is that many farmers have shifted to other crops that offer better returns, leading to a contraction of over 18 lakh hectares in cotton acreage between 2020-21 and 2025-26.
Source
This report summarises and analyses coverage from Rural Voice — Latest. The analysis and India context are IndianAgri's own.