New Delhi, Sept. 20 (PTI): Gujarat is likely to produce 90 lakh bales of cotton and 33.87 lakh tons of oilseeds in the on-going Kharif season.

Total cotton acreage in the country is estimated to be 90 lakh hectares during the current season. In Gujarat, its 20 lakh hectares.

According to Agriculture Department in Gujarat, the largest cotton producer followed by Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, the total acreage under cotton crop in the state has increased to 25.09 lakh hectare (LH) from 23.90 LH during the same period last season. Oilseeds acreage has increased to 23.85 LH from 23.59 LH.

The cotton production in the state was robust last year, but is expected to drop by 3.2 per cent this season, the report says.

In the 2006-07 cotton season ended August 31, the state grew 93 lakh bales of the crop, while in the on-going Kharif season, the state is estimating output of 90 lakh bales.

The state is confident of increasing the oilseeds output by 85 per cent in the current season, despite a marginal increase in the acerage from 23.59 LH to 23.85 LH.

The oilseeds production is expected to touch 33.87 lakh tons as against 18.35 lakh tons last year.

To increase the oilseeds production, the state has sown groundnut in 16.67 LH area, while castor and sesamum has been sown in 3.37 LH and 3.03 LH respectively.