Cii Asks Punjab To Focus On Cotton

The Confederation of Indian Industry, northern region, has said the first special economic zone (SEZ) to be set up in Punjab should initially concentrate only on the textile sector. Yarns, textiles and garments constitute 36 per cent of Punjab's total exports.

"As India is trying to increase its share in the global textile market from 4 per cent to 10 per cent in the next 10 years, there will be a surge in demand for raw cotton from the state," a CII release said.

CII has also submitted several recommendations to the Punjab government for the state's industrial policy. The recommendations have been prepared by the confederation in response to the report of the chief minister's advisory committee on industrial growth and development of relevant infrastructure.

In India, cotton imports attract 10 per cent customs duty. Adding miscellaneous expenses the landed-price of imported cotton is 15 per cent higher than the original import price. CII feels if raw cotton is available domestically in sufficient quantity, import of the commodity will go down and the industry will have greater flexibility on the price front.

"India imported 375,000 tonnes of lint cotton in 2001. We need an additional 1.5 million hectares to produce the quantity we imported last year. In 1990-91, 714,000 hectares were under cotton cultivation as compared to 473,000 hectares in 2001,