Cotton supplies in Indian spot markets fell 7.6 percent from a year earlier to 22.63 million bales between October and February as farmers postponed the sale of the fibre, expecting a price rise, a leading trade body said on Thursday.

Due to thin supplies, Indian cotton dealers were forced to cancel and postpone export shipments.

The world's biggest cotton producer is likely to harvest 34.1 million bales of cotton in the 2016/17 season, that started on Oct. 1, up about 1 percent from a year ago, the Cotton Association of India said in a statement. (Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)