Foreign news on May 18, in the latest assessment this month, the Cotton Association of India (CAI) lowered its cotton production forecast for 2021/22 to 32.363 million bales from the previous 33.513 million bales. Packages (170kg per package). Last year production exceeded 35.2 million bales.
Although Indian Textile Minister Piyush Goyal said that excess cotton can only be exported after meeting the needs of local traders and textile mills, the Indian garment industry is expected to grow in fiscal 2023. Years are facing tough times.
The minister made this comment at a meeting with industry stakeholders on May 17. As the price of cotton has more than doubled in one year, the garment industry hopes to ban the export of cotton and yarn in the short term, declare cotton a necessity, and prohibit cotton from being traded on commodity exchanges.
Although the minister did not accept the request to ban exports, he extended the import tax exemption period on bills of lading to September 20, 2022, which had a mitigating effect. He set up the Indian Cotton Council, which comprised different stakeholders, to discuss issues in the industry. The first meeting will be held on May 28.
The problem began with a shortage of cotton caused by irregular rainfall and a reduction in planting area in the main cotton-producing states of Mabang and Kupang.
Sanjay Kumar Panigrahi, general manager of Cotton Corporation of India, said, “In the 2021/22 cotton year (October-September of the following year), the cotton planting area is 1320% higher than the previous year. The number of hectares decreased by about 1 million hectares, and low prices discouraged farmers. Irregular rainfall further exacerbated the decline in yields.”
