DGFT extends deadline for cotton export registration

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has extended the deadline for mandatory documents and the scrutiny and issue of registrations for cotton exports by a week.

According to an earlier notification, the last date for the process was July 15. This has now been extended up to July 22.

The government had recently allowed one million bales (1,70,000 tonnes) of additional cotton exports, in addition to the existing 5.5-million bales quota executed earlier. This followed demand from traders that the free fall in local prices be arrested.

“Owing to the disruption of trade, both in Bangladesh and Mumbai, trade might have been 15-20 per cent lower. This would now be covered with the extension in the deadline,” said M B Lal, ex-chairman, Cotton Corporation of India, and managing director, Shail Exports. Trade in Mumbai was disrupted at least twice this week, owing to the recent terror attack and heavy downpour in the city.

DGFT had earlier allocated 158,460 tonnes of cotton on a pro-rata basis among 227 applicants. A total of 8,200 tonnes of cotton was sequestered following interim orders of various high courts, while 3,339.2 tonnes were kept aside after a Calcutta High Court order.

Bangladesh, a major market for India’s cotton exports, saw several strikes and trade disruptions in the recent past. Industrial units in Bangladesh remained closed at least twice since July 1. Lal said the development in Bangladesh needed to be taken into account before taking a final decision on cotton exports.

The DGFT notice said once final orders from the respective courts were received, further action would be taken. The cotton may be allotted according to a high court directive. The quantity of cotton (or the balance quantity, as the case may be) may also be divided among the two public sector applicants---Cotton Corporation of India and Minerals and Metals Trading Corporation. Such contingent allotment is necessary, since the government has mandated the export of the additional one million bales in the current cotton year, and neither of the public sector applicants would go through another round of allocation by inviting fresh applications. Such small quantity would not be viable for a fresh round of allocation.