Under the chairmanship of Suresh Kotak, the council will prepare an action plan to resolve the problems of the cotton sector
Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Textiles, Commerce and Industry and Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, has announced the formation of an informal committee under the chairmanship of Suresh Kotak, a renowned veteran of the cotton industry, with representation from Ministry of Textiles, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Finance, Commerce and Industry, Cotton Corporation of India and Cotton Research Institute. The first meeting of the proposed council has been scheduled for May 28, 2022. The council will discuss, deliberate and prepare a robust action plan for bringing about tangible improvement in this field.
The announcement came during a meeting with stakeholders from the cotton value chain held under the chairmanship Goyal yesterday that was also presided by the Minister of State for Textiles Darshna Jardosh. Secretary Textiles Upendra Prasad Singh and Secretary Agriculture Manoj Ahuja were also present. In the meeting, a cross-section of views and suggestions were deliberated for softening cotton and yard prices on an urgent basis to address unprecedented price rise witnessed in the current season. It was pointed out that cotton productivity is the biggest challenge in the country, thereby resulting in less cotton production despite the largest area under cotton cultivation.
The Minister emphasised upon the need for making available better quality of seeds to improve productivity of cotton farmers. Addressing the meeting, Goyal gave a clear and loud message to all stakeholders to resolve cotton and yarn price issue in the spirit of collaboration rather than competition and super profiteering without pushing the government to intervene as it may have a long-term impact on the cotton value chain. He also emphasised the need of holding hands of cotton farmers who are the weakest part of the cotton value chain besides extending all possible support to stakeholders engaged in backward and forward integration through out-of-box thinking at this critical juncture.
Pointing out that government is committed to protect the interests of cotton farmers, spinners and weavers, the minister assured to actively consider the demand of the spinning sector for exemption from import duty on those import contracts in which bills of lading are issued up to September 30, 2022 to overcome the current cotton shortage and logistic issues. Goyal also appealed to the spinning and trading community to ensure hassle-free supply of cotton and yarn first to the domestic industry while only surplus cotton and yarn should be diverted for exports. He cautioned that export should not be at the cost of the domestic industry which is the largest generator of employment in the country.