Allow Export Of 20 Lakh Bales More, Ginners Tell Centre.

The Core Committee of the All India Cotton Ginners Association on Wednesday demanded a special quota of 20 lakh bales of cotton for export. They also demanded that cotton export be brought under the Open General Licence (OGL) system.

A delegation of the association will call on the Commerce Minister and other senior cabinet ministers on July 5 and demand immediate permission for export of 20 lakh cotton bales for the benefit of the cotton producers and traders.

Association secretary Saurin Parikh said since the world price of cotton was high compared to India, allowing export would increase cotton prices in the domestic market, ensuring higher prices to the farmers. He said the ban on cotton export has resulted in cotton prices crashing down.

The Centre had so far allowed export of 55 lakh bales of cotton since the new season began on October 2010.

There are huge stocks of cotton with farmers and ginners in the country, but it remains piled up because of the low demand in the domestic market and ban on the export, Parikh said.

If the farmers do not get better prices for their produce, it will create problems for the domestic textile industries, he added.

He said representatives from eight cotton producing states who attended the meeting also stressed the need to bring cotton export under OGL.

Among the states that participated in the meeting were Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.

Gujarat contributes a third to India’s annual cotton production of 330 lakh bales. India’s total domestic cotton consumption stands at 250 lakh bales.

Source : indianexpress.com