Cotton Council of India

May 22, 2022

Cotton Council of India has been recently set up by the Union government.

Why the council was set up?

According to the Union Ministry of Textiles, the objective of the council is to resolve the issues related to cotton & yarn pricing and bring substantial improvements in the sector. Suresh Bhai Kotak is appointed as the chairman of the Cotton Council of India. The first meeting of the Cotton Council of India is scheduled for May 28^th.

What are the highlights of Union Textiles’ Minister’s speech?

The decision to set up the Cotton Council of India was taken in a meeting with stakeholders from the cotton sector. At the meeting, chaired by the Union Minister of Textiles, it was pointed out that the declining cotton productivity is a huge challenge for India. The Union minister spoke about the need to ensure the availability of better quality seeds to improve cotton productivity. He also gave assurance to consider the demand for exemption from import duty on some import contracts to overcome the current shortage of cotton in India.

How much cotton is exported from India?

In 2021-22, the Cotton textile exports, including raw cotton were USD15.29 billion. The cotton prices increased by more than 100% during the last one and half years. One of the major reasons for an increase in cotton prices is unchecked exports. More than 60% of cotton and cotton yarn are exported to countries like Bangladesh and Vietnam, which are competitors for India in the textiles sector.

The Union Minister of Textiles recently cautioned the spinning and trading community that cotton should not be exported at the cost of the domestic industry. He suggested that yarn and cotton should be supplied first to the domestic industry and only surplus should be exported.

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