The Southern India Mills Association (SIMA), Coimbatore, has sought the intervention of the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, to halt the export of cotton in view of the spiralling cotton prices.
The association has blamed the ‘dominance of multinational cotton traders and speculation' in cotton prices for the abnormal increase during the current cotton season that threatens to derail the ‘entire textile value chain'.
It has also pressed for the formulation of an interim Cotton Policy to safeguard the future of the industry.
The SIMA Chairman, Mr J. Thulasidharan, appealed to the Prime Minister to suspend the cotton export registration till May, 2010.
The registration so far is in excess of 40 lakh bales as against the CAB-earmarked exportable quantity of 55 lakh bales for the entire cotton season till September 2010. He put the arrivals so far in the market at 68 lakh bales.
Though the Cotton Advisory Board (CAB) has estimated that about 295 lakh bales of cotton would be produced, the actual production will be less than 280 lakh bales whereas the consumption would be at least 260 lakh bales. Only around 160 - 180 lakh bales would be of good and above average quality cotton, of which over 40 lakh bales have been covered for exports.
Source : Business Line