Dec 6 (Reuters) - Cotton prices in India are likely to remain steady on hopes of government intervention to check any sharp fall in prices though rising arrivals and lesser demand from yarn makers will continue to put pressure, analysts and traders said.

"Farmers are reluctant to sell crop at lower prices and are expecting some government intervention, either through an increase in minimum support price or large scale procurement by state-run firms, to prevent prices from going down," said Arunbhai Dalal, a trader from Rajkot, Gujarat, the largest grower.

The government agencies usually buy farm products from farmers at pre-agreed rates called minimum support prices(MSP).

Fibre prices in India are likely to fall substantially in the next two months as the biggest importer, China, cuts orders at a time when domestic supplies are set to peak.

Cotton arrivals in India's spot markets till Dec. 4 in the 2011/12 season fell 24.4 percent on year to 5.2 million bales of 170 kg each, state-run Cotton Corp of India said on Tuesday on its website.

On Tuesday, the most traded Shankar-6 variety rose 200 rupees to 35,200 rupees per candy, data from the trade body Cotton Association of India showed.

Prices in India had hit a record high of 61,700 rupees per candy in March, tracking global prices that rose to an all-time high of $2.27 per lb, as adverse weather conditions in key growing areas disrupted supplies.

Cotton exporters, however, expect weak rupee to provide some support to cotton shipments from India.

The partially convertible Indian rupee has fallen nearly 17 percent from a 2011 high reached in late July to a record low of 52.73 against dollar on November 22.

India is expected to ship nearly 8 million bales in the current cotton year, which began on Oct.1.