Cotton production in 2015-16 season stood at 338 lakh bales (of 170 kg each), Textile Commissioner Kavita Gupta told reporters here after the season's first meeting of the Cotton Advisory Board.

Cotton production is estimated to increase by 3.84 percent in the 2016-17 season (beginning from October 1) to 351 lakh bales compared to the previous year, a top Central Government official said.

Cotton production in 2015-16 season stood at 338 lakh bales (of 170 kg each), Textile Commissioner Kavita Gupta told reporters here after the season's first meeting of the Cotton Advisory Board. "The increase in production is mainly estimated on the basis of good monsoon, no pest attack and high density plantation in the southern zone," Gupta said.

Even as the total area is expected to decline by 11.59 percent to 105 lakh hectares this year, compared to 118.77 lakh hectares, the output is expected to be higher due to increase in yield, she said.

The total yield is expected to grow by 17.46 percent to 568 kg per hectare in 2016-17 from 483.79 kg per hectare last year, she added. The production in all regions, except the south, is expected to be high, she said.

"In the southern region, the total output is expected to decline to 94 lakh bales compared to 108.50 lakh bales last year as there is a shift to other crops in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana," she said. Gupta added that the area under domestic cotton varieties is expected to be higher than last year.

In 2016-17, the total area under domestic varieties is likely to be 18.90 lakh hectares, up from 11.95 lakh hectares last season. On the other hand, the area under Bt cotton is expected to decline to 86.10 lakh hectares in 2016-17 from 106.82 lakh hectares in the previous year, she added. Further, she said, exports this year is expected to decline as Pakistan, a key cotton market for India, is likely to see a bumper production this year. "The total export is expected to be 50 lakhs bales this year, down from 69 lakh bales last year. This is because cotton crop in Pakistan, to which we exported 40 percent of the total shipments, is expected to have a bumper production. Moreover, our export to China is likely to remain same or marginally less than last year," she added. Last year, cotton production in Pakistan was hit due to floods.