Cotton (lint)

What it is

Ginned cotton fibre pressed into bales of 170 kg. It is the main raw material for spinning mills, and also goes into absorbent cotton, wicks and mattresses.

Staple length classes: short, medium, long and extra-long staple (ELS)Bale quality as per IS 12171 (cotton bales specification)Kasturi Cotton Bharat: certified, traceable Indian cotton brand

Where India produces it

1. Maharashtra

   Largest producer: 77.55 lakh bales in 2025-26 (provisional).

2. Gujarat

   67.93 lakh bales in 2025-26 (provisional).

3. Telangana

   55.54 lakh bales in 2025-26 (provisional).

4. Karnataka

   21.20 lakh bales in 2025-26 (provisional).

5. Rajasthan

   17.04 lakh bales in 2025-26 (provisional).

6. Andhra Pradesh

   16.13 lakh bales in 2025-26 (provisional).

7. Madhya Pradesh

   11.64 lakh bales in 2025-26 (provisional).

Where imports come from

Low but rising. COCPC estimates imports of 40.00 lakh bales against a crop of 292.15 lakh bales in 2025-26 (provisional).

• Brazil — US$ 403.31 million of imports under HS 5201 in 2025-26.
• United States — US$ 385.05 million of imports under HS 5201 in 2025-26.
• Australia — US$ 372.56 million of imports under HS 5201 in 2025-26.

Rules before you buy or sell

• Cotton Bales (Quality Control) Order notified 28.02.2023 (amended August 2023) with IS 12171; the Ministry of Textiles deferred it to August 2026.
• Customs duty on raw cotton was exempted from August to December 2025.
• CCI buys kapas from farmers at MSP when market prices fall below it.

Storage and handling

Keep bales dry, off the floor on pallets, under cover and away from flame; cotton catches fire easily.

Businesses that use it

Surgical Absorbent Cotton (Cotton Wool) →Cotton Wicks (Diya Batti) →Cotton Mattresses and Pillows →Cotton Swabs (Ear Buds) →Solar Charkha Yarn Spinning →Cotton Thread Manufacturing →