Concerned over cotton rates falling below support price, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh has called a meeting with textile and commerce counterparts tomorrow to discuss ways to ensure fair price to farmers.
Cotton prices are now ruling below the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 4,050 per quintal in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and even in other growing states. Already, state-run Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) has started buying cotton at the MSP rate in AP and Telangana.
"In a recent visit to Maharashtra and Gujarat, I felt there was a need to discuss about the cotton price issue with other ministries concerned. So, I have called a meeting of Textile and Commerce Ministers tomorrow on this issue," Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh told reporters.
Besides Textile Minister Santosh Gangwar and Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, CCI and department officials will attend the meeting which will deliberate on ways to protect cotton growers in the country, including strengthening of CCI's procurement operations in other states, he added.
Singh also said, "Arrival has just began. We are taking stock of the situation at the beginning of the season so that farmers are not affected in any way due to falling prices."
The pace of cotton arrival is slow in major growing states even as production is expected to be higher.
CCI has so far procured more than 60,000 bales in AP and Telangana at the MSP rate, while it has not yet began procurement operations in other states like Maharashtra even as prices are ruling below the support price.
Domestic cotton prices have fallen due to sluggish export demand and anticipated higher domestic production.
THe Cotton Advisory Board has pegged the country's total cotton production at over 40 million bales in the 2014-15 crop year, as against 39.8 million bales in 2013-14. One bale contains 170 kg of cotton.
