Even though the MSPs for pulses and oilseeds have been increased for the khariff season, the market prices for the former are much lower. As a result, farmers are more inclined to shift to other crops, and they are favoring one in particular. Could More Cotton Plantings Produce a Glut? 7.182 million hectares of cotton have been sown as of 7 July 2017 versus 6.789 million hectares a year ago, a 5.182 percent increase. This suggests almost 58.65 percent of the crop has been planted when measured against the five-year average. According to the Cotton Association of India (CAI), production could be as high as 37.5-38 million bales (170 kg each) in 2017/18. For reference, the record of 35.902 million bales was reached in 2013/14, and the gove...