Ban on export to prevent cotton shortage: Maran

Defending the government's move to ban cotton export, Union Textile Minister Dayanidhi Maran said that the decision was taken to bring down cotton prices, and to prevent its shortage in the domestic market.

Talking to reporters here, Maran said that once cotton arrivals start picking up in the new season from October, the situation will be reviewed.

He said that many spinning mills in Pakistan had to close due to shortage of cotton, and the closure had a cascading effect on other segments, such as weaving and knitwear.

India exported 78 lakh bales of cotton this year, he said, adding that farmers got a good price, above the MSP fixed by the government.

However, Maran said that the Indian spinning sector does not have adequate capacity to absorb all the available cotton.

The sector should add more spindles to make use of the cotton available in the country, he said.

Maran had attended a meeting of the representatives of the textile industry, including Confederation of Indian Textile Industry, Southern India Mills Association, Apparel Export Promotion Council, Tamil Nadu Spinning Mills Association and Tirupur Exporters' Association on bringing down the prices of cotton yarn.