Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) has urged government to introduce measures to ensure that exports of cotton are driven by genuine demand in global markets. Reacting to the lifting of the ban that government had introduced on cotton exports, Mr. S.V. Arumugam, Chairman, CITI, stated that there were reports of speculative exports including stock transfer that would take out Indian cotton to other countries for hoarding in anticipation of future demand.
He pointed out that even after lifting the ban, measures would be necessary to scrutinise exports in order to ensure that only genuine transactions were permitted.
Mr. Arumugam observed that removal of the ban should not lead to speculative operations by traders. “Market forces and speculation should be differentiated and exports based on genuine demand in the overseas markets alone should be allowed”, he stated.
He also hoped that there would be enough cotton for domestic consumption, even after lifting the ban on exports. In this regard, he welcomed the balanced view taken by government in suspending further registration of cotton export contracts.
Mr. Arumugam reiterated his appeal to the industry to buy as much of cotton as possible in order to avoid any stress in the farming community. He also requested government to accelerate the process of allowing rescheduling of debt repayment by the textiles industry on the lines recommended by CITI, in order to enable the industry to buy more cotton.
Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI)