# Cotton acreage matches last year as southern states expand area 2026-08-26T04:17:20+00:00 | Business & Economy | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Cotton acreage in the current kharif season stood at 108.45 lakh hectares as of August 21, nearly equal to 108.73 lakh hectares a year ago, according to government data. Gains in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh offset declines in Maharashtra and Rajasthan. Telangana saw the sharpest rise at 7.28% to 19.5 lakh hectares, while Gujarat reported a 3.23% increase to 21.35 lakh hectares. Maharashtra, the largest cotton-growing state, saw a marginal dip to 38.22 lakh hectares from 38.37 lakh hectares. Rajasthan's acreage fell about 6% to 5.38 lakh hectares. Atul S Ganatra, chairman of the Cotton Association of India's crop committee, said the crop condition is excellent but the next 30 days are crucial. He said another round of rain in the next 10-15 days is needed in Gujarat, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh for good yields. The industry will wait until end-September to project final crop size. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Cotton is India's second-largest kharif cash crop after paddy, supporting an estimated 6 million cotton farmers directly. The area shift from Maharashtra to Telangana reflects the latter's better irrigation infrastructure and pest management under the government's Bt cotton framework. The Cotton Association of India projects the crop size only after September rains because the boll development stage in October determines actual yield per hectare. Any shortfall could widen India's import of extra-long staple cotton, which the textile ministry data shows has been rising since 2020. The next key data point is the weekly sowing update from the agriculture ministry until the season officially closes in October. ## Coverage - thehindubusinessline.com Straight factual reporting of government acreage data and industry comments, no editorial framing or political slant. This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Atul S Ganatra, Cotton Association of India, Gujarat, Kharif season, Maharashtra, Telangana Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/cotton-acreage-matches-last-year-as-southern-states-expand-area/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/cotton-acreage-matches-last-year-as-southern-states-expand-area/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/