Telangana Agriculture Minister Thummala Nageswara Rao has directed officials to ensure smooth cotton procurement during the 2026–27 Kharif season, protect farmers' interests and explore opportunities to establish spinning units across the state.

The minister emphasised the need to prevent procurement delays, ensure farmers receive the minimum support price (MSP) and monitor market prices regularly. Officials have also been asked to prepare for potential production challenges arising from the El Niño weather phenomenon.

According to officials, cotton cultivation in Telangana covered 48.20 lakh acres during the current season, with production estimated at 29.43 lakh metric tonnes. In the previous season, cotton was cultivated across 50.73 lakh acres, producing 28.33 lakh metric tonnes.

At the national level, cotton cultivation covered 271.06 lakh acres, with estimated production of 133.04 lakh metric tonnes, compared with 148.02 lakh metric tonnes in the previous year.

The Centre has fixed the minimum support price for the 2026–27 Kharif marketing season at ₹8,667 per quintal, while prevailing market prices are around ₹9,000 per quintal.

Telangana has 356 ginning mills with a combined processing capacity of 1,09,035 bales. Of these, 335 mills across 30 districts have been designated as cotton procurement centres.

Addressing concerns about limited processing and spinning capacity, the minister instructed officials from the Marketing Department and the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) to review open-market prices daily and examine opportunities to expand the state's textile processing industry.

The initiative aims to strengthen cotton procurement, support farmers and encourage greater value addition within Telangana's textile supply chain.