MUMBAI (Commodity Online): India-based spinners are all set to witness happy days ahead as the country's biggest competitor in yarn exports, Pakistan is said to have put a cap on the yarn exports to a maximum of 35,000 tonnes per month.

According to Cotton Association of India expects spinners to realise higher prices for cotton yarn this year because of the recent decision by Pakistan.

India's cotton exports in the current marketing year are likely to jump as much as nearly double on the back of increased demand from the overseas market. According to CAI estimations, India is likely to export 6.8 million bales of 170 kilograms each during the marketing year through September, compared with the 3.5 million bales it shipped a year earlier.

As of Feb. 28, around 76% of the crop has arrived in the local market, the association said in its February estimate. India, the world's second-largest cotton producer, is likely to produce about 30.1 million bales in the crop year through September, Dhiren Sheth, president of the association, said.

India's cotton output in 2009-10 (Oct-Sep) is estimated at 30.1 million bales (1 bale=170 kilogram) up by over a million from previous year, the CAI stated in a news release today. India's cotton production in 2008-09 was recorded at 29 million bales. In the current year, India's cotton supply is estimated at 38.15 million bales, while the domestic consumption is pegged at 24.7 million bales. Thus, the country is estimated to have a surplus of 13.45 million bales. The country may export around 6.8 million bales of cotton.

Pakistan India