The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Coimbatore News : Textile mills’ plea on cotton exports

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Nov 15, 2007
ePaper

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore

Textile mills’ plea on cotton exports

Staff Reporter

COIMBATORE: The textile industry has sought measures from the Government to regulate cotton exports to meet the needs of the domestic mills.

According to an industry representative here, rupee appreciation, hike in interest rates and slow market had affected the units. Cotton arrivals were increasing and the prices were expected to come down.

However, cotton prices were going up, making it difficult for the mills to buy raw material. For instance, the price of MCU 5 (Andhra Pradesh) was Rs. 19,800 a candy in October last year and it was Rs. 21,500 a candy this year. In the last three years, the mills hardly saw any major fluctuation in cotton prices.

The representative said cotton production was expected to be 280 lakh to 300 lakh bales this year. Though the export projection was 60 lakh to 70 lakh bales, it could be higher, he said.

With higher international prices and a drop in the U.S. cotton production, the demand for Indian cotton was high. Hence, it was learnt that huge quantities of high quality cotton were being exported. “The farmer should get remunerative prices and the domestic industry should also get the advantage of home grown cotton,” he said.

The Central Government should reduce the import duty on cotton to five per cent, he said.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail