Cotton farmers in Gujarat are shifting to other crops like groundnuts and soybeans due to low prices for their produce, causing a decline in cotton acreage, state Agriculture Minister Raghavjibhai Patel told The New Indian Express.

Cotton farmers in Gujarat are shifting to other crops like groundnuts and soybeans due to low prices for their produce, causing a decline in cotton acreage, state Agriculture Minister Raghavjibhai Patel told The New Indian Express.

“Gujarat is the hub of cotton production as our Prime Minister Narendra Modi invested a lot in its value chain,” said Patel, who is also Minister of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Cow-Breeding, Fisheries, Rural Housing and Rural Development in Gujarat.

However, Patel raised concerns that the inadequate price farmers receive is discouraging cotton production in the state. “Cotton farmers in the state are marred by both lower production and lower prices. They do not get the required price for their produce, which discourages them from growing more,” he said, adding that many are shifting to more profitable crops.

Gujarat’s cotton acreage has declined from 26.79 lakh hectares last year to 23.62 lakh hectares in the 2024-25 Kharif season. Maharashtra now leads in cotton acreage. Once the largest cotton-producing state, Gujarat has ceded its position to Maharashtra, which now tops the list, followed by Gujarat.

Latest estimates from the Cotton Association of India show Gujarat’s cotton pressing at 76 lakh bales (each bale weighing 170 kg), compared to Maharashtra’s 85 lakh bales and Telangana's 48 lakh bales as of May 31, 2025.