Cotton industry seeks stable prices, lower import duty amid volatility concerns: Secy General CITI

New Delhi [India], May 7 (ANI): The cotton textile industry has sought stable and competitive cotton prices along with predictable raw material availability, as volatility in cotton prices continues to remain a key concern for manufacturers and exporters.
Speaking to ANI, Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) Secretary General Chandrima Chatterjee said the industry is looking forward to the implementation of the government's Cotton Mission announced for the next five years, while highlighting the need to address productivity and price stability challenges.
"We are looking forward to the implementation of the cotton mission as soon as possible. But there is a big issue that India's productivity has become low. India's productivity has become half of the world's average," Chatterjee said.
She said the industry expects cotton prices in India to remain competitive with other textile manufacturing countries such as Bangladesh and Vietnam.
"Cotton prices should be competitive. Competitor countries like Bangladesh and Vietnam are getting cotton at the same price. Stable and predictable pricing is important for the industry," she said.
According to Chatterjee, raw material costs account for nearly 70-80 per cent of the textile industry's overall cost structure, making sudden price increases difficult to absorb.
"Margins are nominal, and raw material cost is 70-80 per cent. A sudden jump in prices is not good for competitiveness," she said, adding that order cycles in the industry are short and pricing uncertainty impacts execution.
Referring to consultations with the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) and the Ministry of Textiles, she said the industry is seeking a "balanced view" to ensure stability in cotton procurement and pricing.
She added that the industry has requested that procurement be directed towards mills and manufacturers to ensure smoother supply availability and reduce speculative pricing in the market.
"Our request is that procurement should be given directly to industry, not to the trading community, so that the price remains stable and the mills and industry get a viable cost," she said.
On policy measures, Chatterjee said the removal of import duty on cotton could help improve competitiveness for the domestic industry.
"The easiest way would be to remove import duty because 11 per cent import duty is a huge amount. India is among the few cotton-producing countries with such an import duty, and after that, it becomes very difficult to retain competitiveness in the industry," she said.
She also noted that industry consultations on the Cotton Mission have included discussions on seed costs, mechanisation, branding and implementation aspects aimed at improving productivity and strengthening the sector over the long term. (ANI)