Exporters seek permit to ship 662,906 bales of cotton

Cotton suppliers from India, the world’s second-biggest grower, sought government approval to export 662,906 bales abroad in the five months-ended December, the textile ministry said.

Traders shipped 414,612 bales after the government in July made registration of export contracts mandatory to curb domestic prices. Exporters have registered 578 contracts with the textile commissioner for shipment, the ministry said on its website.

India last year scrapped an import tax on cotton and curbed overseas sales to boost supplies to local textile mills. Output may climb 2.2 per cent to 32.2 million bales in the year-ending September from a year earlier, according to Cotton Advisory Board. An Indian bale weighs 170 kg (375 pounds).

Exports during month-ending September 30 may be less than 8.5 million bales a year earlier, said Subhash Grover, managing director of the state-owned Cotton Corporation of India., the biggest buyer of the commodity, said in November.

Traders also registered to export 56,153 bales of cotton waste between August and December and a total of 21,988 bales have been shipped.