NEW DELHI (Commodity Online): India's cotton production is forecasted to be higher in the next season with nearly 31.5 million bales as the favorable monsoon and strong overseas demand prompted farmers to expand their acreage under cotton cultivation.

According to latest official data, the area under cotton cultivation in the country is expected to increase by 10% this year and cotton acreage marked a surge of 50% from June to July 2.

India, the world’s second largest cotton producer, had produced 29.2 million bales in the last marketing season, which runs from October to September. The area under cotton at the end of the 2009 summer sowing season was estimated at 10.17 million hectares.

Higher cotton production is expected to bring the down the domestic prices of the commodity, which were surged more than 30% to Rs 29,700 per candy of 356 kg each since October because of a surge in exports of the fibre.