Ginners strike against ban on cotton export

Protesting against the recent cotton export ban, ginners of the Saurashtra region have gone on a two-days' strike from Wednesday. What's more, even the agricultural produce market committee (APMC) of the region has also joined them in the protest.

"Ginning mills in the state have gone on two-days' strike to oppose the Union Government's decision on banning cotton exports. The ginning mill owners will meet on March 9 to decide on their future action plan," said Bharat Vala, president of Saurashtra Ginning Association.

According to Vala, the ban will affect next cotton sowing and if farmers don't get their expected prices then they may shift to groundnut crop as they have been receiving good prices for groundnut throughout all the year. The ban on cotton export has come also hit the commodity prices which declined by almost Rs 3000 per candy of 356 kg. Varieties like Gujarat Sankar-6 cotton were traded on Rs 32,800-33,000 per candy.

"We are considering to go for indefinite strike after our meet," Vala added.

The government has banned cotton exports with immediate effect, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said on Monday, as the world's second-largest exporter of the fibre moves to conserve supplies for local mills.

"All APMCs in Saurashtra have also extended their support by joining the strike and have suspended cotton auctions till the ban is withdrawn," said Hardevsinh Jadeja, president of Rajkot APMC.