Textile manufacturers demand cotton at reasonable prices
Currently, the cotton and soyabean farmers are enjoying a rare bull run in prices even as other value chain participants cry foul.
Currently, the cotton and soyabean farmers are enjoying a rare bull run in prices even as other value chain participants cry foul.
If the poultry industry had complained of exorbitantly high prices of soyabean, it is now the turn of textile industry which has raised its voice against the all-time high prices of kapas (raw unginned seed cotton). The common cause between both the poultry and textile industry curiously is future’s trading platform which they said has resulted in unhealthy speculation and thus price rise in the commodities.
Since the start of the current (October-September) Cotton Marketing Year, average traded price of Kapas in most markets have been well above its government-declared Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Rs 5,726/quintal (medium staple). Talks of a global supply pinch and a short crop in the country had seen further price hike even as farmers decided to hold on to their crop rather than offloading them.
At present, Kapas prices in most markets of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh is trading well above Rs 10,000/quintal which the market sources say is a historic high.
If farmers are confident of better prices, the textile lobby mainly from the south Indian states have pressed the SOS button on account of high raw material prices. Textile manufactures in the hub of Tiruppur in Tamil Nadu have decided to go on a two-day strike later this month to protest against the higher than normal yarn and candy prices. A major textile manufacturer based out of New Delhi had even written to the Prime Minister asking for immediate intervention to help them get raw material at reasonable price. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has lend his voice with the textile manufacturers and asked for reduction of import duty on cotton to alleviate prices.
Source: The Indian Express
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