According to a senior Coimbatore-based scientist based, the area under cotton production increased from 30,000 hectares to over 40,000 hectares in the state. The increase is seen mainly in pockets of Tirunelveli, Salem and Tanjavur.

The state produces the medium staple varieties of MCU-5, MCU-7 and Anjali. The increase in production, he said, is due to the price awareness among cotton farmers. The higher prices the commodity commanded during the season encouraged most of them thereby increasing area under cotton cultivation.Cotton prices during the season had shot up following an expected drop in supply from major cotton production centres of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan.

The increase in summer production in Tamil Nadu, the scientist claimed, is expected to push up the total production in the stateto little over six lakh bales against last year's 5.50 lakh bales. However, the trading community claimed that cotton arrivals during the season are identical to the same as that of the previous season. ``The arrivals indicate more or less the same pattern,'' said one trader.