Union Minister of Textiles and Commerce has announced the formation of a Cotton Council of India, under the chairmanship of Suresh Bhai Kotak, a renowned veteran cotton man, with representation from the ministries of Textiles, Agriculture, Finance and, Commerce and Industry and the Cotton Corporation of India and the Cotton Research Institute.
The first meeting of the council has been scheduled for 28 May. It will discuss, deliberate and prepare a robust action plan for bringing out a tangible improvement in this field.
The announcement came during Piyush Goyal’s meeting with stakeholders from the cotton value chain held yesterday.
In the meeting, a cross-section of views and suggestions were deliberated for softening cotton and yarn prices on an urgent basis to address an unprecedented price rise witnessed in the current season.
It was pointed out that cotton productivity is the biggest challenge in the country, resulting thereby in less cotton production despite the largest area under cotton cultivation.
The minister emphasised the need for making available better quality seeds to improve the productivity of cotton farmers. He gave a clear and loud message to all stakeholders to resolve the cotton and yarn price issue in the spirit of collaboration rather than competition and super profiteering without pushing the government to intervene as it may have long-term impact on the cotton value chain.
He also emphasised the need for holding the hands of cotton farmers who are the weakest part of the cotton value chain, besides extending all possible support to stakeholders engaged in the backward and forward integration through ‘’out of the box’’ thinking at this critical juncture.
Pointing out that the government is committed to protecting the interests of cotton farmers, spinners and weavers, the Goyal promised to actively consider the demand of the spinning sector for exemption from import duty on those import contracts in which bills of lading are issued up to 30 September 2022 to overcome the current cotton shortage and logistic issues.
He also appealed to the spinning and trading community to ensure a hassle-free supply of cotton and yarn first to the domestic industry and suggested that only surplus cotton and yarn should be diverted for exports. He cautioned that export should not be at the cost of domestic industry which is the largest generator of employment in the country.
