Tamil Nadu News

Tamil Nadu Cotton Farmers on MSP

September 4 , 2025 15 hrs 0 min 27 0

Cotton farmers in Tamil Nadu are not benefiting from Minimum Support Price (MSP) operations by the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI).
Since 2021, CCI has not procured any cotton from Tamil Nadu farmers despite its mandate to do so when prices fall below MSP.
Cotton cultivation in Tamil Nadu is spread across 19 districts covering nearly 70,000 hectares, but ginning factories are located 100 to 200 km away.
CCI procurement rules require a minimum of 3,000 hectares of cotton cultivation in a taluk and a ginning factory within 20 km to set up a procurement centre.
Transport costs to ginning factories in Tamil Nadu are about ₹500 per quintal, but MSP operations do not cover transportation expenses.
Andhra Pradesh supports farmers by covering transportation costs, and similar support is recommended for Tamil Nadu to aid cotton growers.