Textile sector pitches for removing import duty on all varieties of cotton

The Centre estimates cotton production in 2021-22 at 36.25 million bales, while traders said it was around 33-34 million bales

Textile industry stakeholders, in a meeting with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday, pressed for removing import duty on all varieties of cotton or at least on extra-long staple (ELS) cotton to curb the rise in prices, and highlighted the issue of alleged hoarding by cotton players.

The price of one cotton candy (one candy = 356 kg) increased from around Rs 37,000 in 2020 to Rs 80,000 now. Normally, any increase in the price by Rs 1,000 per candy would lead to an increase of Rs 4 per kg of yarn.

Domestic raw cotton prices have moved up by almost