Kapas is unginned cotton or the white fibrous substance covering the seed that is obtained from the cotton plant.

The world cotton area and production are estimated at around 30-31 million hectares and 20 million tons respectively.

The biggest cultivators of cotton are America, India, China, Egypt, Pakistan, Sudan and Eastern Europe, with China, US and India being the three largest producers of cotton.

US has a considerable share in world exports. India and China both fall short of their domestic requirement and are net importers. Among the consumers China leads the way being followed by India, Pakistan, US and Turkey.

India is the third largest producer of cotton in the world with production of around 3.95 million MT. Area under cotton is around 9.50 million hectares contributing about 21% in world share and keeps fluctuating owing to monsoon and other factors Despite having the largest area under cotton in the world, India ranks third in world output of cotton due to its abysmally low average yield of 415 kgs against a world average of 723 kgs per hectare.

Cotton is cultivated in almost all the states in the country, the 9 states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka account for more than 95 percent of the area under output. In India cotton is sown during March to September and harvested during September to April. The peak marketing season for the crop is during November to March. At present about 40 percent of the 5 million hectares of total area under cotton in India is under hybrid cotton.