Spinners hail transhipment facility provided for storing

Southern India Mills' Association today welcomed the transhipment facility provided for storing cotton at Tuticorin port.

In a statement, SIMA Chairman M Senthilkumar lauded the "proactive initiatives" taken by the NDA government especially the Ministry of Shipping, Tuticorin Port Authorities and Customs Commissionerate as a part of Ease of Doing Business.

The port has been provided with the transhipment facility to start with for storing around 250 containers of cotton for a period up to 30 days free of cost and another 60 days at a discount charge with freedom to sell cotton either in India or any other country depending on the demand,he said.
 

The transhipment facility of international cotton would largely benefit the country, bring stability in cotton prices as the imported cotton would be available at demand and also help the mills prevent losses due to price volatility and also currency fluctuations, Senthilkumar said.

Tamil Nadu Textile Industry accounts for one-third of cotton textile business and 47 per cent spinning capacity of the country and spinning mills in the state annually needs around 120 lakh bales of cotton (170 kgs per bale).

But, Tamil Nadu produces only around five lakh bales of cotton per year and therefore, around 80 per cent of the cotton is procured from states like Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana, Senthilkumar said.

The state also imports around 15 per cent of the cotton from African countries, US and Australia, he said.