India’s cotton exports to drop 9 per cent to 9 million bales: USDA

India's cotton exports are expected to drop by 9 per cent to 9 million bales in the 2013-14 marketing year on sluggish demand and high prices as against the global market, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said in a report.

In the 2012-13 marketing year (August-July), India had shipped 9.9 million bales. (One bale packs 170 kg of cotton).

"The 2013-14 export estimate is unchanged at 9 million bales. Indian prices have been high relative to international prices over the past few months... Demand from China has also been weak. As reported previously, much will depend on China's cotton policies," the USDA said in its latest report.

However, in the event of India resuming its position as one of the more competitively-priced cotton origins, the pace of exports could step up to the extent as demand, it noted.

According to the report, over the last three months, India had exported 4,92,565 bales of cotton.

On the price front, the USDA said, domestic rates had started falling with the increase in the pace of arrivals.

According to the USDA, India's cotton output was estimated to be a record 37.2 million bales this year, as against consumption of 29.5 million bales for the same period.

The report added that the Indian government was working on improving cotton data collection and had issued several notices over the past year concerning mandatory reporting requirements.