PM's intervention sought for postponement of cotton export

The Tirupur Exporters' Association today requested Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to immediately intervene and postpone cotton exports to January 15 and ban cotton yarn exports, to ensure its availability in the domestic market.

In a letter to Singh, TEA president, A Shaktivel said the knitwear export sector was facing an alarming situation, which would even lead to the closure of export units after Diwali, as no one is able to cope with the ever increasing price pressure of cotton yarn, the main raw material.

The cotton price in the domestic market was skyrocketing on a daily basis because of the government permission granted for export of 55 lakh cotton bales from November. It was a fact that the real beneficiaries were traders and MNCs and not the cotton farmer nor the user industry, he claimed.
    
Requesting the Prime Minister to allow cotton export only from Jan 15, that too in a calibrated manner, TEA also urged him to bring cotton under the Essential Commodities Act.
    
Shaktivel also said cotton procurement should be done on Actual User Condition basis to avoid speculation and hoarding.
    
Copies of the letter were sent to union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, textile minister Dayanidhi Maran, Commerce and industry minsiter Anand Sharma and his deputy Jyotiraditya Scindia, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi and deputy Chief Minister M K Stalin.