Indian apparel manufacturers have been constantly urging the Government to ban cotton export amidst the unprecedented high prices of cotton and cotton yarn.
However, Ministry of Textiles (MoT) has said that a ban on cotton exports, at this juncture, is unlikely to serve any purpose.
As per a report of Financial Express, a leading English business daily, Upendra Prasad Singh, Textiles Secretary, said that outbound shipments of cotton are non-viable now, as domestic prices of the fibre have exceeded the global levels.
The top official of MoT said that besides the high domestic prices, there are logistics costs for exports, and so exports in any case are not happening now. He added that unlike cotton, there is adequate availability of cotton yarn in the domestic market.
Notably, cotton prices have more than doubled in the past one year to breach the Rs. 100,000mark for a candy of 356 kg.
He acknowledged the crisis the entire textile and apparel value chain is facing, and said the Government is working with industry players to find out ways to improve domestic supplies in the short term.
Some cotton import deals have been firmed up after an effective duty of 11 per cent was scrapped recently. However, even supply from overseas against these contracts will reach only by July-August, while the new crop will start hitting the market from mid-September, he said, adding that there is a shortage now.
Source :https://in.apparelresources.com/