The situation of COVID-19 pandemic has reached new crisis levels in India. According to the latest data released by the Ministry of Health of India, as of 8:00 on April 25, local time, in the past 24 hours, nearly 350,000 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in India, with a total of nearly 17 million confirmed cases, a record high.

India is the world’s leading cotton producer, accounting for about 24 percent of global output in 2019/20. Cotton acreage in India is expected to decline by 2 percent in 2021/22, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s report. Cotton is now in the planting season in India. Sowing has begun gradually in northern India, with full planting normally starting at the end of April.

 

However, it appears that the coronavirus in India may lead to a further decline in cotton acreage due to labor shortage and decreased willingness of cotton farmers to plant, which may affect the cotton planting process.

 

India is the world’s largest cotton producer, the world’s largest jute producer and the world’s second-largest silk producer, with 22 percent of the world’s yarn production capacity. The textile sector accounts for about 15 percent of India’s export revenues.

 

At the end of last year, some manufacturers had already indicated that the number of transfer orders received would be lined up until the second quarter of 2021.