The Government will on Monday issue an order rolling back the cotton export ban that it had imposed on March 5.
The Commerce, Industry and Textiles Minister, Mr Anand Sharma, said in a statement on Sunday that “Keeping in view the facts, the interests of the farmers, interest of the industry, trade, a balanced view has been considered by the (Empowered) Group of Ministers to roll back the ban and a formal order will be made public tomorrow (Monday) by the Government.”
“Earlier, MPs from Gujarat had met the Prime Minister (Dr Manmohan Singh) and today (Sunday) our senior MP, Mr Ahmed Patel; Leader of Opposition in Gujarat, Mr Shakti Singh Gohil; Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee President, Mr Arjun Modhwadia; met me and discussed the issue,” the Minister added.
The ban had brought the cotton trade to a halt in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka. This had left the farmers in the lurch, according to Mr Kishor Tiwari of Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti, an NGO.
Prices plummet
Following the ban, prices crashed to levels around Rs 3,000 a quintal from the Rs 4,200 last month. In some cases, farmers had even sold at Rs 2,500 a quintal at Adilabad in Andhra Pradesh and Ghatanji, Mr Tiwari said.
Mr Tiwari estimates that 30 per cent of the cotton produced is still lying with the farmers and an equal amount with the local ginners and traders. This means that there's very little domestic demand. Hence, the justification given by the Commerce Ministry (that an export ban was needed to ensure domestic supplies) is far from what's happening on the ground, he said.
The Maharashtra Chief Minister, Mr Prithviraj Chavan, who was in New Delhi on Saturday, raised the issue of the cotton export ban with the Centre, official sources said.
Mills purchase
Meanwhile, Mr S.V. Arumugam, Chairman, Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI), has requested the textile mills all over the country to accelerate their purchases from farmers and ginners.
The Government has already prompted the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) to ensure that the farmers' interests are protected. CCI is, therefore, expected to make procurements in all mandis, where the prices fall below the MSP.
Simultaneously, the textiles mills have also commenced procurement operations in the country. The Government believes that the price situation is unlikely to be adversely affected by the current decision for long.
The cotton export ban followed registration of over 12.5 million bales (of 170 kg each) of cotton for exports.