The South India Spinners Association (SISPA), Coimbatore, has urged the Centre to retain a minimum quantity of cotton in the country before allowing exports to ensure price stability.

It also wants the Centre to restore the concession under the Technology Upgradation Fund (TUF) Scheme during the 10 month period it remained suspended in 2010-11.

The association, in its resolution adopted at its recent AGM, pointed out that the Centre permitted export of cotton even before the harvested cotton crop reached the market leading to fluctuation in prices. This caused huge losses to most of the mills last year and a similar situation has emerged during the current year also.

The association said the Group of Ministers had taken a decision that a minimum stock of 50 lakh bales of cotton should be maintained which SISPA wanted the Government to strictly adhere to.

SISPA said that the mills were not able to meet the repayment schedule for their machinery term loan obtained under TUF because of the extraordinary situation prevailing now and wanted the Government to direct the banks to enforce a two-year moratorium on loan repayments with TUF benefits.

The association pointed out that the Central Government had kept in abeyance the TUF scheme from June 29, 2010, to April 27, 2011. It wanted the Government to restore the scheme for the suspended period so that the eligible mills could benefit from the scheme. The textile ministry had at that time kept the scheme under suspension for the above mentioned period till funds were allocated.

It requested the Tamil Nadu Government to implement the power cut uniformly across the State. Pointing out that imposing market committee cess on waste cotton was unwarranted as it was a waste and not an agricultural byproduct, the association sought the abolition of the 1 per cent market committee cess levied on spinning mills.

SISPA appealed to the state government to reduce the VAT levied on cotton procured in the State and on cone yarn from 5 per cent to 2 per cent in each case.

At the AGM, K. Thirunavukkarasu was elected President of SISPA for the 2012-14 term. K.Rangarajan, C.Varatharajan and N.Murugesan were elected as Vice- Presidents and J. Selvan was elected Hon. Secretary.

Related Topics