Cotton arrivals in Indian spot markets fell 30 percent in October as unseasonal rains delayed harvesting of the crop, an official at the state-run Cotton Corp of India said on Tuesday. Arrivals stood at 1.48 million bales of 170 kg each as on October 30, compared with 2.1 million bales a year ago, the official, who requested anonymity, told Reuters.
"Rainfall in north India delayed harvesting. It has been picking up and from next week we will see a sharp rise in arrivals, especially from Punjab, Maharashtra and Gujarat," he said. India, the world's second-largest grower and exporter of cotton, is estimated by the state-run Cotton Advisory Board(CAB) to produce 35.5 million bales in the new marketing year that began in October, up from 32.5 million a year ago. It could export 7 million bales in 2011/12, unchanged from last year, Textile Commissioner A.B Joshi had said on August 30. The CAB will meet next Tuesday to provide a new output estimate after the recent rains.