Abstract No. Oral–24
GLOBAL MARKETS FOR ORGANIC COTTON, AND INDIA’S OPPORTUNITIES
AND CHALLENGES AS PRIMARY PRODUCER
Prabha Nagarajan
Textile Exchange, India
The Organic cotton market which was nascent in 2001, with a global market of USD 240 million, is today
one of the fastest growing sectors. In 2009 the market grew to USD 4 Billion, a growth steered by Textile
Exchange (previously Organic Exchange) in partnership with farmers, manufacturers, brands and
retailers.Today most of the leading brands which include Nike, C&A, Walmart, Co Op Switzerland, and
Levi Strauss include organic cotton textiles in their product mix and have committed programs for
organic cotton. The steady expansion of the global organic cotton market was driven by consumer
interest in “green” products and by brands and retailers who wished to continue to show support to
more sustainable ways of doing business.Organic cotton has been growing steadily in acreage, tonnage
and in the number of third party certified farmers engaged in its production. India, Syria, Turkey, China
and USA are the top 5 countries. India has been the principal producer for the last three years and in
2009, produced close to 200000 MTs of lint contributing to almost 80% of the global supply. India’s
opportunity to continue to be a key player in organic cotton production lies in the context of her being a
country with the largest acreage potential,and a significant number of dedicated organic farming
communities. This combined with an enviable production capability for a wide spectrum of textiles
contributes to making India a “one stop destination” for brands and buyers. The last three years has seen
tremendous growth, but the sector also faces significant challenges. Some of these challenges such as a
need for tighter regulatory systems has been met through introduction of Tracenet, an online tracebility
system introduced and made mandatory by APEDA, Ministry of Commerce. The Govt of India has also
recognized that a distinct policy for Organic Cotton could offer solutions and support and is attempting
to achieve this through provisions in the ensuing National Fibre Policy in the next five year plan. In the
interim, there is an urgent need to address some of the critical issues faced by the Organic Cotton
growers, which include among others, availability of non Bt seeds which are mandatory for organic
systems, scientific support for selecting appropriate genotypes for organic production, nutrient and pest
management practices specific to regions, possible earmarking of organic cotton zones and improved
input availability preferably with subsidies. Public Private Partnership models that can address these
issues are sorely required. There is an urgent need to address these issues, if India is to keep her
leadership role in the growing organic cotton industry.
Abstract No. Oral–25
ECONOMIC IMPACT OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED COTTON IN INDIA:
WELFARE EFFECTS AND ITS DISTRIBUTION ACROSS STATES
P. Ramasundaram, S. Kurup and J. Samuel
National Centre for Agricultural Economics and Policy Research, New Delhi, India
This paper presents the results of a study aimed at measuring the economic impact of genetically
modified cotton (Bt cotton) in India and its distribution across major cotton cultivating states. The
present study employs ex-post approach and mostly uses the data obtained from /published by the state
agencies. The introduction of genetically modified cotton had a phenomenal impact on increasing yield,
reducing pesticide consumption, real cost of production and cultivation. However, the performance
varied across the states. The yield increase is as high as 104% in case of Gujarat, 95% in Maharashtra and
78% in case of Andhra Pradesh and less than 15% in case of Tamil Nadu. The cost of pesticide application
posts mixed trend with Punjab recording a sharp reduction of about 190%. Increase in pesticide use was
recorded in three out of nine states under study, perhaps due to the emergence of sucking pests. The
welfare gain since introduction of Bt cotton is enormous and significant. At 1995 cotton prices (when the
research on Bt cotton was initiated in United States), the total economic surplus estimates to be about Rs
370 billion. Of this, the consumer surplus (industrial surplus) accounts for about 68% and the rest
producer surplus. The highest welfare gain is appropriated by Maharashtra at about 32%, followed by
Gujarat (24%), Andhra Pradesh (19%) and Punjab (18%). The study highlights the need for technology
upgradation to counter the dampening effect of the technology depreciation in later years.
World Cotton Research Conference on Technologies for Prosperity
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